New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has cleared a proposal for setting up a greenfield airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which is likely to be operational in the next five to six years.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said at a press briefing in New Delhi on Saturday that “in-principle clearance has been granted" for the airport.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority has notified 3,000 hectares of land for a world-class international airport, Raju added. “Noida International Airport will cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10-15 years," Raju tweeted.

The airport will help reduce congestion at the Delhi international airport. The Delhi airport terminals can handle 62 million passengers annually. In 2016-17, it handled 57.7 million passengers.

“In Delhi, we are expecting 91 million passengers by 2020 and 109 million passengers by 2024," Raju told reporters.

The plan for building a second airport at Jewar for NCR was first submitted by the then UP chief minister Mayawati in 2002.

The Uttar Pradesh government had asked the civil aviation ministry to do a technical evaluation of the Jewar airport project on the outskirts of Greater Noida.

Airports Authority of India, under the aviation ministry, had sent a team to conduct technical analysis of the area, including air funnels for aircraft and land.

The new UP government is pushing for more infrastructure.

During a meeting soon after taking over chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked officers to work on building airports at Agra and Jewar and proceed further with the central government, PTI reported on 10 April.

Airports fall under the purview of the union aviation ministry while land is provided by the state government.

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