PwC to assist with construction of new airport for Delhi
Global professional services firm PwC has been appointed by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in India to assist with the acceleration and completion of the new Jewar airport. The airport, which will come up in the Greater Noida district, will act as a second channel of air traffic for the National Capital Region.
The UP government hopes to lay the foundation stone of the upcoming Jewar airport as soon in 2018 if possible, with hopes that its first phase, at the very least, will be operational over the next five years. The airport has been planned with the aim of easing some of the load on the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi.
In order to speed up the process to meet these broad targets, the government has employed the services of Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC. Specifically, the firm will prepare the techno-economic feasibility report (TFR) for the mammoth project. The firm is expected to deliver the TFR by April.
The consulting firm is then expected to bid the documents for the projects by July, and subsequently obtain the environmental clearance by October. Moreover, the development authority hopes to acquire the land for the project by August, for which a sum of Rs. 330 crore has already changed hands.
Plans for the project are divided into two phases, the first being a development phase and the second involving expansion. Under the first phase, 3,000 acres of land will be acquired for the project, providing enough room for two runways. With this capacity, the new airport is hoped to channel 30 to 50 million passengers per year, reducing the burden on IGI.
The project will coincide with expansion plans for IGI airport, and the two will undergo development simultaneously.
Commenting on the project, a senior government official said, “If IGIA's expansion is not delayed and Jewar airport remains on track, Delhi-NCR may not meet the fate of Mumbai where the airport has saturated and has no slots to increase flights. With a BJP government in UP and at the Centre, Jewar is expected to develop at a fast pace. Already, GVK Group (which developed Mumbai and Bengaluru airports) and GMR have shown interest in bidding for Jewar.”
Increased air-traffic into the nation’s capital is a promising indication. The country is becoming a regional economic hub, and is set to become one of the largest economies on the globe. Meanwhile, a booming hospitality sector ensures the capacity to handle the incoming traffic.
