Zurich airport company wins huge Indian deal

An aircraft from Swiss International Air Lines at Zurich Airport in summer 2019 © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Flughafen Zürich AG, the operator of Zurich airport, has been selected to design, develop and operate a new airport near the Indian capital after outbidding local companies.

The companyExternal link said in a statement on FridayExternal link it would develop and operate the new Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh state under a 40-year concession.

“The new airport will be located around 80 kilometers south of Delhi and will be fundamental to accommodate the expected flight traffic growth rates in the National Capital Region,” the statement said.

A spokesman for the Uttar Pradesh state government, Mritunjay Kumar, told the Associated Press that state authorities had acquired 5,100 acres (2,063 hectares) of land and obtained environmental clearance for one of the biggest airports in Asia. According to the Times of India, it is expectedExternal link to have six to eight runways, the most in India, when finished.

Flughafen Zürich AG said that capital investment in the first phase of the project was expected to be about $650 million (around CHF650 million) during the construction period of nearly four years. The first phase is expected to be able to accommodate around 12 million passengers per year.

It added that India was a “focus market for the company” and it was pleased to be back in India after selling its remaining shares in Begaluru (Kempegowda International Airport), in the south of the country, in 2017. It helped develop this airport between 2005-2008.

The company is involved in other projects abroad: this includes eight airports in Latin America. Other focus countries are Indonesia and the Philippines, it added.