MoCA approves development of Jewar greenfield airport project

The MoCA has given its in-principle approval for the development of the Jewar greenfield airport project (Greater Noida). The model bid document for the project has been prepared by NITI Aayog and expressions of interest from bidders are likely to be invited in the first week of July 2018. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, which is the nodal agency for the project, has already initiated the environmental clearance and land acquisition processes. The agency has completed the social impact assessment study, which has been submitted to the Uttar Pradesh government and the process for acquiring land is expected to start by early June 2018. The bids for the project are likely to be finalised by September 2018 under which the GMR Group, the operator of Delhi airport, has got the right of first refusal. This means that GMR will be given preferential treatment in the bidding process in case its bid is about 10 per cent lower than the best bid. This is mainly because Jewar airport will lie within the 150 km radius of Delhi airport and could affect its revenues. To begin execution, the foundation stone for the project is expected to be laid by October 2018. Jewar airport involves an investment of about Rs 200 billion and will be developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.