Question : Construction of Airports in Uttar Pradesh

(a): whether the proposal for the Jewar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh has been pending for long time, if so, the reasons therefor;

(b): whether the proximity of the proposed Jewar airport to the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor would act as a growth engine for the country;

(c): if so, the time by which proposal is likely to be cleared;

(d): whether the Government has approved a proposal for setting up of Greenfield airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh;

(e): if so, the details and the current status thereof; and

(f): the time by which the above airports are likely to become operational?

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Jayant Sinha)

(a) & (b): Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) had submitted a proposal for development of Noida International Airport near Jewar, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. GoUP has been requested to carry out Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) Survey. GoUP has not submitted the same. Construction of new airport projects generally has long gestation period and thus it is not possible to indicate its impact on the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor at this stage. ;

(c): As per Greenfield Airport Policy, Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation grants two stage clearances i.e. ''Site Clearance'' followed by ''in principle'' approval. The timeline for approval depends upon mandatory clearances from various Government Ministries/departments.;

(d) & (e): GoI granted ''in principle'' approval to GoUP for setting up of Greenfield airport at Kushinagar in September 2010. Central Government has provided support of Rs 70.93 crores (20% of the project cost) under Viability Gap Funding Scheme. The Department of Tourism, GoUP had invited applications from prospective developers for developing the airport in PPP mode. However, the project could not attract the interests of developers. It has now been decided that State Govt. shall develop the airport at its own and Airports Authority of India (AAI) shall provide the ANS support/services.;

(f): The operationalisation and construction of any Greenfield airport depends upon various factors such as demand from airlines, traffic forecast and land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances, financial closure etc. by the individual operator.