New Greenfield Airport in Greater Noida

After the grand opening of Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, every Indian takes pride to boast as a Project which was completed in time for the Commonwealth Games 2010 to be held in Delhi. Within a month of opening of Terminal 3, the controversy in aviation infrastructure struck whether new Greenfield Airport in Greater Noida airport will take off in near future or not.

As per the norms in the Greenfield Airport Policy 2008, a Greenfield Airport may be permitted where an existing Airport is unable to meet the projected requirements of the traffic or a new focal point emerges with sufficient viability. In case of an application to establish an airport within 150 km of an existing airport, the proposal would first be considered by the steering committee under the chairmanship of Civil Aviation Secretary that would take into account all relevant facts and circumstances including contractual liabilities. The Committee will also take into account whether the applicant has obtained relevant approvals required and then give its recommendations to the civil aviation ministry. Depending on ministry's approval, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) can grant a license to the project. It is interesting to note here that the Operation, Maintenance and Development Agreement dated 4th April, 2006 entered between GMR-led Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) is based on the policy on Airport Infrastructure, 1997 which clearly states that no Greenfield Airport will normally be allowed within an aerial distance of 150 kilometers of an existing Airport and where it is allowed as a second airport in the same city or vicinity, the parameters for distribution of traffic between the two airports will be clearly spelt out.

The gap between the traffic projections of UP government and DIAL is too wide and there is a lot of difference in the projections. These projections will now be examined by the aviation ministry and AAI. A realistic traffic projection will be crucial to decide for setting up a new Greenfield Airport in Grater Noida. The UP government justified the need for Delhi's second airport in Greater Noida through its consultant, L&T Ramboll's report that estimates the NCR to have 100 million people flying per annum much before 2021. DIAL, which is developing IGI on the basis of traffic study done by UK-based Mott McDonald, estimates the 100-million mark to be breached only after 2032. At present, the Terminal 3 is capable of handling 37 million passengers per annum and the actual traffic is 9 million of international passengers and 19 million of domestic passengers. Further, the Master Plan of DIAL is clear with respect to the start of next phase of construction of Terminal 4 which will be triggered by growth in traffic.