LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh is set to get the highest number of international airports in the country, the state government said on Monday, ahead of the foundation laying ceremony of the Noida International Airport at Jewar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25.
The state, at present, has eight operational airports, while 13 airports and seven airstrips are being developed.
"With the ground breaking and foundation laying ceremony of the Noida International Airport scheduled on November 25, the state is now on its way to have five international airports - the highest for any state in India," the BJP-led state government said in a statement.
Uttar Pradesh had only two international airports - Lucknow and Varanasi - till 2012.
The third international airport at Kushinagar became operational after it was inaugurated by Modi on October 20, while work on the airport in Ayodhya is on in full swing and air services are expected to start early next year, it said.
The fifth international airport is to come up at Jewar near Noida in the National Capital Region (NCR), it said.
"The unique distinction of Uttar Pradesh in providing unmatched air connectivity in the country is in keeping with the government's commitment to ensure uninterrupted multi-modal connectivity on land, railways, water and air."
"The Prime Minister's Gati Shakti National Master Plan has infused a sense of urgency into the plans for infrastructure development in the state," the statement stated.
The Plan is essentially a digital platform to bring 16 ministries, including railways and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
The Noida International Airport (NIA) is being constructed near the town of Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar in the NCR region in Uttar Pradesh.
Its location is about 72 kilometres from the existing IGI airport in New Delhi, 40 km from Noida and about 40 km from the multi-modal logistics hub at Dadri, the statement said.
The airport will have excellent multi-modal connectivity as it is close to the existing Yamuna Expressway (Greater Noida to Agra), Eastern Peripheral Expressway and it will have link with Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Ballabhgarh, Khurja-Jewar NH 91.
It will also have a link to Dedicated Freight corridor, Metro Extension from Noida to NIA and link with the proposed High Speed Rail (Delhi-Varanasi) at airport terminal.
The phase-1 of the airport will have a capacity to serve 12 million passengers a year and is scheduled to be completed in 36 months, it added.