Bhiwadi pips Jewar to house second airport in Delhi NCR.

Bhiwadi in BJP-ruled Rajasthan is set to house the second airport in the National Capital Region of Delhi, following the civil aviation ministry's approval to the project recently that dashed all hopes of Jewar in Greater Noida where the erstwhile Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh had proposed an airport years ago.

The project will require waiver of the clause that bars an airport to come up within 150 km radius of the existing Delhi airport, which has been built and is being operated by GMR Infrastructure-led consortium Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL).

'We will provide all approvals required for the airport project,' said a senior ministry official, who did not want to be identified. As per the norms, GMR Infrastructure will have the right of first refusal for the Bhiwadi project, the official said.

The Bengaluru-based company will be asked to match the lowest bid arrived at after the bidding process for the proposed airport. The airport in Bhiwadi, which will be developed by the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), has been approved after a detailed study of traffic projections for the Delhi airport, officials said.

The existing airport will achieve 100 million capacity between 2021 and 2023, thereby reaching saturation point, they said.

'If you want a second airport by then, we need to start now,' said the official. Analysts, however, said that it makes more sense to have an airport in the Noida region than to have it in Bhiwadi.

ET