PwC submits first Jewar airport plans for legal and regulatory approval
Having been appointed earlier this year for support with plans for the new Jewar airport in New Delhi, global professional services firm PwC has now submitted its initial concessionaire agreement to the concerned authorities. The agreement will now undergo a month-long review and approval process.
In January this year, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) appointed Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC to help accelerate the planning and implementation process for the new Jewar airport that is set to come up in the Noida are near New Delhi.
The airport is being established to help distribute some of the heavy traffic currently being dealt with by the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Given the extreme pressure that the airport has come under, the Uttar Pradesh government sought to accelerate the process of developing the new airport.
The ambitious goal set by YEIDA was the laying of the foundation stone for the airport at an early stage of 2018 itself. PwC was brought on board to compile a techno-economic feasibility report by as early as April, and subsequently obtain environmental clearance for the project by October.
The project is on a very large scale, involving up to 3,000 acres of land and an investment of Rs. 330 crore merely for the acquisition of the same. The new Jewar airport is being designed to have two runways and an expected capacity of channeling 30 to 50 million passengers annually.
PwC has now submitted a concessionaire agreement for the project, which will now undergo a complex review process. At the initial stage, the document will be subject to a legal review by YEIDA officials, which is expected to last for the approximate duration of a week.
As explained by CEO of YEIDA Arun Vir Singh, “The Jewar concessionaire agreement has been submitted by PwC. Now, YEIDA will examine it and do a few changes, if required. After the committee’s approval, the document will go to the cabinet for government approval. All this will take about a month’s time.”
Subsequently, the department of civil aviation’s project monitoring and implementation committee will give its approval. “The land acquisition process will continue. The final document (from the civil aviation department) will be floated for global bidding for Jewar airport,” adds Singh.
