GRAP curbs will not impact Noida Airport construction, say officials

Implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to check pollution in Delhi-NCR will not impact the construction work of the upcoming Noida International Airport, officials said on Thursday.

The greenfield airport is coming up in Jewar, some 75 km off Delhi, along the Yamuna Expressway. The airport is being developed in four phases and the first phase is scheduled to be completed by September 2024.

According to the officials, a delay in the completion of the project would also leave the Swiss concessionaire Zurich International Airport AG under a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per day.

"According to the order of the Commission for Air Quality Management dated October 29, 2022, there is no obstacle in the construction work of the Noida International Airport," said an official of the Yamuna Expressway Authority.

The Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Zurich International Airport, said according to GRAP orders, airport construction is exempted and in view of this, construction work continues in accordance with the plan at the Noida International Airport.

"We have implemented additional measures to reduce dust at the site and minimise environmental impact. These include installation of mist guns, continuous water sprinkling on work areas and roads with tankers and covering of all aggregate and soil stocks with green nets," Christoph Schnellmann, the Chief Executive Officer of YIAPL, told PTI.

The order of the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas had called for strict implementation of GRAP guidelines in view of the air quality in the region hitting the severe category as forecast by the weather department.

Among the measures stated in the order is enforcing a "strict ban" on construction and demolition activities in the entire NCR.

However, the order made exceptions for railway services, railway stations, and metro rail services including stations, airports and inter-state bus terminals.

National security, defence-related activities, projects of national importance, hospitals and healthcare facilities besides highways, roads, flyovers, over bridges, power transmission, and pipelines among others have also been exempted, according to the order.

The Noida International Airport, billed to be India's largest upon completion, will be NCR's third commercial airport after the IGI Airport in Delhi and the Hindon in Ghaziabad.

Currently, construction work is underway for the first phase of the airport which is being developed in an area spreading over 1,300 hectares while the Uttar Pradesh government is in the process to acquire the land for the second phase of the greenfield project.