A second international airport will come up in the National Capital Region of Delhi, Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, announced on Thursday.
“The new international airport will come up in UP, possibly in Jewar, as land there has been identified and acquired,” the Minister told newspersons after a high-powered meeting in the Civil Aviation Ministry where the decision was taken.
The minister was of the opinion that even if the existing airport in Delhi was to gear up to expand its facilities to handle more cargo, the road infrastructure is inadequate to handle the additional load.
The minister’s decision to announce a second airport comes at a time when the domestic aviation market is growing at close to 10 per cent.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary Civil Aviation and Chairmen of the Airports Authority of India and Air India. The proposal will have to be approved by the Union Cabinet before the process of inviting bids gets underway.
The current promoters of the Delhi airport, GMR Group, will have the first right of refusal.