The opening of the Noida International Airport, which is running six months behind schedule, is slated for inauguration in the June quarter, a top official of Zurich Airport said. A 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International has the mandate to construct and operate the greenfield airport.
While construction of the runway and air traffic control tower is underway, the terminal building of the new airport is far from being ready.
“The construction is progressing, with the runway and tower ready, but the terminal still requires interior work. We expect to inaugurate the airport in Q2 2025, with a ramp-up over the next two to five months,” Kevin Fleck, chief financial officer, Zurich Airport, told analysts on March 7.
When asked if penalties will be levied for the delay in the opening of the airport, Fleck added, “Yes, there are penalties of approximately CHF 300,000 (Rs 3 crore) per month, but these can be contractually passed on to TATA (Tata Projects), the airport’s constructor.”
On March 7, Noida International Airport said it had submitted the application for the aerodrome licence and was working closely with the aviation regulators to complete all necessary steps, including the publication of the Aerodrome Information Publication.
“We expect the aerodrome license in the next few weeks. The fee application process is ongoing, and we aim to have temporary tariffs before operations start,” Fleck added.
“We expect 1 to 1.5 million passengers in 2025 and up to 8 million in 2026,” Fleck further added.
The contract of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work at Noida International Airport was bagged by Tata Projects in 2022.
According to earlier estimates provided by Zurich Airport, Noida International Airport was set to be inaugurated in December 2024.
The initial annual capacity of the new airport is 12 million, while the final capacity will be 70 million. After the completion of Phase 4, earlier slated to be between FY40 and FY50, the total project cost of the airport is expected to be around Rs 30,000 crore.