India - PM lays foundation stone of Asia's biggest airport in Noida

(MENAFN- NewsBytes) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh's Jewar. After the ceremony, he addressed a rally at the site where a huge crowd converged to witness the historic moment. The event is being attended by over 2.5 lakh people and a massive tent covering an area of over 12 lakh square feet has been constructed.

The Noida International Airport will be UP's fifth international airport as well as Asia's largest airport. The airport is a key infrastructure project undertaken by the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP, which is gearing up for the Assembly elections next year. The government is projecting it as a 'gamechanger' for the state, which would become the 'logistics gateway of northern India.'

Meticulous preparations were made for Thursday's ceremony. Apart from the massive tent, a lounge for the prime minister, a helipad, and asphalt roads to the venue were also set up, officials told CNN-News18. On Tuesday, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had also visited the venue to review preparations ahead of PM Modi's visit for the foundation laying ceremony.

CM Adityanath Tuesday said Noida International Airport would bring in an investment of around Rs. 60,000 crore to Uttar Pradesh and create one lakh jobs. There will be many other projects like Film City and Electronic Park in the region, he added. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) will soon invite bids for the construction of a 1,000-acre Film City near the airport.

Meanwhile, the UP government Thursday allocated Rs. 3,301 crore for the rehabilitation of people displaced due to the ongoing construction of the airport in Jewar. The move comes after reports claimed that hundreds of families, displaced due to the airport's construction, have been living in tents as they had not been allotted an alternative plot. Some also alleged they had not received any compensation.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday urged Modi to compensate the displaced farmers. 'Compensation is the right of farmers. Narendra Modi ji, if your intentions with respect to farmers are honest, then don't leave the farmers homeless to fulfill your electoral ambitions,' she tweeted.

The airport will reportedly be spread over more than 1,300 hectares. It will have a capacity to serve around 1.2 crore passengers every year upon completion of the first phase. The first phase of the airport construction will reportedly be finished by 2024 and will cost over Rs. 10,050 crore. The total cost of the airport would be Rs. 29,560 crore.

The airport will also have a multi-modal cargo hub for the seamless movement of industrial products. The cargo terminal's initial capacity will be 20 lakh metric tons. The same will later be extended to one million tons.

The airport will be India's first net-zero emissions airport. It will have a Ground Transportation Centre featuring metro and high-speed rail stations, taxis, bus services, and private parking for seamless connectivity. For a seamless and smooth passenger experience, it will adopt the swing aircraft stand concept to help airlines use the same contact stand for both domestic and international flights without re-positioning the aircraft.

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