Uttar Pradesh and Zurich Airport International (ZAI) signed a 40-year concession agreement today for constructing an airport at Jewar on the outskirts of Delhi.

Jewar airport will cater to 12 million passengers a year from its opening day in 2024, Daniel Bircher, Managing Director, Yamuna International Airport Private Limited, said on Wednesday. YIAL, a Special Purpose Vehicle created by ZAI, will operate Jewar the airport.

Bircher was speaking to the media after the concession agreement was signed. Work on the airport is expected to begin next year, officials said.

ZAI was awarded the right to build and manage Jewar airport in November 2019. It won the bid as it agreed to pay Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) ₹400.97 per passenger. Adani Enterprises Limited quoted ₹360 and Delhi International Airport Limited ₹351.

NIAL is joint venture between UP, Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority to set up a greenfield international airport in a public-private partnership mode.

Asked as to how much of the ₹400.97 fee will be passed on to passengers, Bircher said that would depend on what decision the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority takes.

In response to a question on whether this is the right time to build an airport as the International Air Transport Association feels that passenger numbers will reach pre-Covid levels only in 2024, Bircher pointed out that the estimates are for international travel.

“Indian domestic travel will recover at a different speed, and 90 per cent of traffic at Jewar airport will be domestic,” he said, adding that it is difficult to give an exact split on how many passengers will fly to Delhi airport and how many to the upcoming Jewar airport.

The capital investment in the first phase is expected to be ₹4,666.35 crore or CHF (Swiss franc) 650 million during the construction period.

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