SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN
On the horizon
Airport World takes a closer look at two very different new airports that are expected to be built over the next five years – Delhi Noida in India and Mirage in Saudi Arabia. Delhi Noida International Airport It may still be a few years away from becoming reality, but a second Delhi airport is now well and truly on the radar following Zurich Airport being named as the preferred bidder for the concession to design, build and operate India’s new Delhi Noida International Airport. Subsidiary, Zurich Airport International Asia (ZAIA), submitted the highest bid for the 40-year concession to develop and manage Delhi Noida International Airport (DNIA), which will be located in Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, around 72 kilometres from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Expected to cost around €600 million, the greenfield airport is slated to open between 2023 and 2027 and will initially be equipped to handle 12 million passengers per annum. However, an ambitious development plan includes proposals to raise its capacity to 30mppa by 2032 and 50mppa by 2037. ZAIA CEO, Daniel Bircher, reveals that although Zurich Airport has received a letter announcing the award of the contract following the gaining of all the necessary security approvals, the actual concession agreement hasn’t yet been signed with Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) because of the fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is something he expects to be put right shortly. “It has been a difficult year, not helped by the COVID-related travel restrictions, but we are currently in discussion with the government about the date for signing the concession agreement,” says Bircher. Indeed, ZAIA has been working on Delhi Noida International Airport’s master plan since January 2020 and is currently in the process of appointing architects and planners for the project. He notes that ZAIA is also in advanced discussions with different financial institutions in a bid to secure all the funding for the project by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 4, 2020
While the Indian government and state of Uttar Pradesh have agreed compensation packages with landowners whose property has been acquired for the new airport and are finalising relocation and resettlement deals for families living on what will be the site of DNIA. “We anticipate completing the pre-construction activities, including all the legal requirements required for the project to go-ahead, in the first half year of 2021 and expect construction to begin immediately afterwards,” enthuses ZAIA’s Bircher. “We have noted the recent efforts of the Government of Uttar Pradesh to attract investors into the Greater Noida area. This is a very welcome move and will help to develop and grow the already emerging area known as the National Capital Region. “The state of Uttar Pradesh is also planning to build a new elevated roadway between IGI Airport [Indira Gandhi International Airport] and DNIA, and the existing Delhi Metro system is to be extended to the new airport, so it will have fast and effective road connectivity and rail links. “Despite the current challenges due to COVID-19, Zurich Airport is extremely motivated to develop this concession and invest in Uttar Pradesh and India.” Bircher notes that Zurich Airport is no stranger to doing business in India having previously been part of the consortium that successfully built and operated Bengaluru’s own greenfield gateway, Kempegowda International Airport, before selling its stake in 2017. “Our success in Bengaluru and elsewhere across the world, where we operate a total of nine airports, proves that we are more than qualified to take on the challenge of Delhi Noida International Airport,” states Bircher. “Our aim is to develop and operate a portfolio of airports in Asia. Delhi Noida is part of this strategy and other Indian airports could follow in the future, when the time is right.”
