India’s Prime Minister inaugurates Noida International Airport

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has officially inaugurated Delhi’s new Noida International Airport (DXN), even though it isn’t expected to handle its first commercial flights until next month.

Located in Jewar, around 75 kilometres south-east of central Delhi, the new greenfield gateway will open with a single 3,900 metre long runway and terminal capable of accommodating up to 12 million passengers per annum.

However, with phased future expansions the airport is expected to have a capacity of 70 million passengers per annum, ensuring that between them, Noida and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) are equipped to meet demand to India’s capital city region for decades to come.

It is also expected to become a key cargo hub for the Delhi-National Capital Region, easing congestion on DEL and the surrounding region.

Viewed as an alternative to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Noida is being built, and will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a special purpose vehicle set up for the job and 100% owned by Zurich Airport International.

It will initially have a capacity of 12 million passengers per annum before being expanded to accommodate 30mppa and eventually 70mppa by the end of the concession in 2061.

The master architect team for DXN’s passenger terminal consists of Grimshaw, the Nordic Office of Architecture, Haptic and STUP. Their design is said to merge Swiss efficiency and Indian hospitality.