The Noida International Airport is being developed with a vision of becoming the country’s leading greenfield airport based upon a philosophy of net zero emission, CEO Christoph Schnellmann said.
“Sustainability and environmental impact were some of the key criteria based on which we selected the airport’s planning and design teams, construction partners, and concessionaires,” he said.
Noida Airport: 8-acre forest, local species, 133-hectare green area
The upcoming Noida airport in Jewar will have an eight-acre forest, 133 hectares of dedicated green area, keeping in line with its commitment to being a net zero carbon emission facility. Some of its sites are already seeing transplantation of 580 trees, including peepal and banyan.
The Noida airport is being developed in four phases over 5,000 hectares of land. The first phase has been spread over 1,300 hectares and as per officials, it is nearing completion.
According to Schnellmann, a specific area has been chosen within the airport land to preserve local species in an eight-acre forest reserve. “As part of our commitment to preserve the plant species around the airport, we have transplanted over 580 trees at the construction site,” he said.
He added that species like neem, mango, shisham, jand, lasora, pipal, banyan and some others have already been transplanted. “The transplantation process is being carried out on the scientific principles of ‘pruning, root ball preparation, tree shifting and planting’ ensuring no net loss of biodiversity,” he explained.
The transplantation process is seeing the use of organic manure.
Noida airport: Green initiatives
The Noida airport is witnessing several green initiatives being taken up. These initiatives include using renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, an onsite waste management facility, a sewage treatment plant, and electric ground support equipment, among others.
“Additionally, our EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor has also leveraged breakthrough technology from Nanogence Catalyst, which is a patented smart activator that enhances the binding efficiency of cementitious material, providing high material performance while reducing carbon emissions,” Schnellmann said.
The greenfield airport, set to become India’s largest upon completion, is being constructed in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in western Uttar Pradesh. Situated approximately 75 km from Delhi, this will be the National Capital Region’s second international airport, with operations slated to begin by the end of this year, according to officials.
(With PTI inputs)
