New Delhi, (IANS) : The central government has given its “in-principle approval” for the construction of a green field airport at Jewar, located in Gautam Budh Nagar district, adjoining the national capital city of New Delhi.

The new facility will be the second international airport to serve the catchment areas of the National Capital Region (NCR).

The new aviation facility at Jewar — Noida International Airport — is expected to ease the infrastructure pressure on the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) located here.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the approval or site clearance has been given for the first phase of the airport which is envisaged to be completed in five years.

“We have granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at Jewar (Greater Noida) to cater to the growing flying requirements of NCR,” Raju said at a press briefing held at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan here which is the headquarters of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

“Noida International Airport will cater to 30-50 million passengers per year over the next 10-15 years.”

Elaborating on the project, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said the first phase of the new airport project is expected to cost Rs 10,000 crore.

The state government through the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority is expected to complete land acquisition and conduct a techno-economic feasibility study for the project within one year.

In April, Sinha had said that the new state government in Uttar Pradesh has asked for a fresh technical evaluation for setting up a green field airport at Jewar.

A technical evaluation of the proposed site at Jewar was conducted earlier but due to the time lapse there was a need to conduct a fresh study, Sinha had said.