Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled big plans for the Noida International Airport which he inaugurated on Saturday. While the first phase of the airport in Jewar was launched today, plans to expand its capabilities are still underway.
Prime Minister Modi praised the airport project and said flights would take off every two minutes from there and termed the project as a major boost to connectivity and development in Uttar Pradesh.
“This Jewar airport connects northern India to the world,” Prime Minister Modi said. “The airport is being set up so that one plane takes off every two minutes.”
“These projects are a testimony to the government’s double-engine efforts towards developing UP. The semiconductor plant is making India self-reliant in technology, while Meerut Metro and Namu Bharat Railway provide fast and smart connectivity,” he said.
“Jewar airport connects all of north India to the world… From here, planes will take off every two minutes. Earlier, the Samajwadi Party was treating Noida as an ‘ATM’ for its own gains, but under the BJP government, Noida has become the engine of UP’s development.”
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and other dignitaries.
The airport has finally opened after several delays and is set to become the second international airport serving the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), after the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
This airport is expected to become the largest in India, with a total capacity of 225 million passengers annually, Shailendra Bhatia, additional chief executive officer of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) and nodal officer of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL), told HT earlier.
Follow here to get live updates on Noida International Airport
Prime Minister on the US-Iran war and India’s response
He also discussed the US-Iran war and how India continued its rapid development.
“In Western Uttar Pradesh, this is the fourth major project completed in just the last few weeks. During this period, a huge semiconductor plant was inaugurated in Noida. At the same time, the first Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat train gained momentum, and the Meerut Metro was expanded. Today, the Noida International Airport was inaugurated by all of you,” the Prime Minister said.
Read also | 3,900 meter long runway, will be India’s largest when completed: 5 key features of Noida International Airport
Security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit
Security measures were tightened across the region ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.
The first phase of the airport was built at an estimated cost $11,200 crore project is designed as a multi-modal transport hub with seamless connectivity across road, rail, metro and regional transport systems.
According to an official statement, the project includes an intermodal freight hub with an initial handling capacity of over 2.5 lakh metric tons per annum, expandable to around 18 lakh metric tons.
The airport’s initial passenger capacity has been set at 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), with plans to increase to 70 million MPPA. The Prime Minister also inspected the station during his visit.
