A four-company consortium has been selected by Swiss developer Zurich Airport International to design the passenger terminal for the upcoming greenfield Jewar International Airport. Chairman and MD of Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), Daniel Bircher was quoted in a PTI report saying that a design competition has been conducted where three international teams have been invited to prepare proposals on how this airport would be designed, considering the efficiency, net zero emissions, digital airport along with other major traits. A 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International, YIAPL has been incorporated to develop Jewar International Airport in Noida.
The consortium includes Nordic, Haptic, Grimshaw and STUP – a team of four companies from Norway, England and India. According to the report, the Hyderabad and the new Istanbul airports have been designed by the members of this team. Around 20 years ago, Grimshaw was involved in designing Zurich airport’s one of the terminals. Bircher further said that they are already at work. The key design activities are expected to be concluded by next June or July so that YIAPL is in a position to contract its construction partner to develop the airport, he said.
On 7 October, a concession agreement was signed by the Uttar Pradesh government and Zurich Airport International to begin the construction of the Jewar International Airport, at an estimated cost of Rs 29,560 crore. During the competition, six design parameters were given to the architect teams, Bircher said. According to the YIAPL Chairman, first one was simplicity and clarity, the second parameter was context and local culture, the third element was operational efficiency, the fourth parameter was comfort and convenience, the fifth parameter was short walking distances and the sixth parameter was flexibility and modularity.
For the first phase of the airport construction, it submitted the master plan to the state government of Uttar Pradesh, last week. According to Bircher, the company has also started interacting with the public via social media platforms as well as started surveys about the airport. With the help of surveys, the company will get to know what air passengers expect when they enter the airport terminal, which services or facilities are important for them, and how the passengers view the different aspects of agility. At present, Zurich Airport International holds 100% shareholding in the Jewar International Airport project, which is at a distance of around 70 km from the main Delhi region.
According to Bircher, the firm is looking to create a very specific digital product that can provide a contactless and seamless passage to passengers inside the airport. He further said that the company is also looking at a number of contactless features including biometric solutions for contactless travel through the airport along the lines of Digi Yatra standards. YIAPL is eyeing a very specific digital product for its customers, Bircher said. To understand what are the new models, the company has conducted about 30 conference calls with all the major players. The company is firming its strategy on how it wants to deploy it, he added.
