The Zurich Airport International on Saturday signed a shareholders’ agreement with the Uttar Pradesh government’s entity, Noida International Airport (NIAL), in Lucknow for the development of the Noida International Airport, a statement from the UP government said. 

Arun Vir Singh, the CEO of NIAL, and Christoph Schnellmann, the CEO of Yamuna International Airport (YIAPL), signed the agreement in the presence Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and senior officials of the UP government, the Zurich Airport International’s statement said. 

YIAPL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Zurich Airport International and has been incorporated to develop the Noida International Airport in Jewar, which is around 70 km from New Delhi. 

According to the agreement, NIAL will hold one golden share in YIAPL and the right to nominate two directors to the board. 

“The directors to be added to the board will be Arun Vir Singh, the CEO of NIAL, and Vishak Iyer, the director of civil aviation of the Uttar Pradesh government,” the statement added. 

The shareholders’ agreement also underpins the UP government’s support to “establish and continuously improve surface access to the airport, establish and expand utilities required to run the airport (water, electricity, waste water), maintain law and order, including monitoring at the airport, and grant the necessary clearances to build and operate the airport”. 

The signing of the shareholders’ agreement was the next step in the direction of progress for the State. The Noida International Airport would be the benchmark for a modern, world-class airport in India, said a statement, quoting Mr Adityanath. 

The international airport would accelerate the development of industrial infrastructure, boost tourism, promote exports, ease air traffic and lead to creation of more jobs in the State. It would generate multi-dimensional progress, leading to economic development in Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister added. 

Last month, YIAPL had announced that it had secured a loan of Rs 3,725 crore from State Bank of India for development of Noida international Airport. 

When it had won the bid on November 29, 2019 to build and operate the Noida airport, the Zurich Airport International had said that the airport would be able to handle 1.2 crore passengers per year after the first phase of construction. 

Officials of the Uttar Pradesh government and the Swiss company had signed a concession agreement on October 7, 2020 to begin the construction of the Noida airport, estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore.