SATS and Air India sign cargo terminal deal at India’s newest airport

The joint venture company of Singapore-based gateway services provider SATS and Air India has signed a concession agreement with Yamuna International Airport to build a cargo terminal at India’s newest airport.

The plan is for an 87-acre integrated multimodal cargo hub at the new Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, southeast of the Indian capital, New Delhi.

The selection of Air India SATS (AISATS) to design, build, finance and operate an integrated multimodal cargo hub was first announced by Air Cargo News in February.

Noida International is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International, together with the Uttar Pradesh and Indian governments.

The new airport is intended to relieve pressure on New Delhi’s existing airports, including the three-runway Indira Gandhi International Airport, which lies to the south-west of the city.

Originally planned for opening in about 2008, Noida International had become a political football for many years, but construction got under way in 2018 with the full backing of the central government.

The plan is to open a two-runway airport by the end of 2024, together with the new cargo hub. However, Noida will eventually be expanded to six runways and cover 7,200 acres, at which point it would be India’s and Asia’s largest airport and the fourth-largest in the world.

There is also a proposal to build two further runways, bringing the total to eight, subject to land availability.

A new highway is also under construction to link the airport to the Indian main road network.

SATS JV to build multimodal cargo hub at India’s Noida International Airport