The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN body, is likely to be given the mandate by Airports Authority of India to conduct a viability and air traffic feasibility study of the proposed airport, a source said.
The Airports Authority of India is planning to soon appoint global aviation body ICAO to conduct an air traffic feasibility study of the proposed greenfield airport near Greater Noida.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN body, is likely to be given the mandate by AAI to conduct a viability and air traffic feasibility study of the proposed airport, a source said.
The airport, also the dream project of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, is slated to be christened as the Taj International Aviation Hub and would come up on a 3,700 acre area at Jhevar near Greater Noida, located about 60 km from central Delhi and 120 km from Agra.
The source said AAI and ICAO have already held talks on the issue and the formalities would be cleared very soon.
Besides studying feasibility, the ICAO uses its expertise to help airport operators around the world in upgrading airports, in their master planning and even financing of construction projects.
AAI's decision comes in the backdrop of the group of ministers on Jhevar airport finding major differences in air traffic projections given by the Uttar Pradesh government and the Delhi International Airports Limited that runs the IGI Airport.
Observing that "realistic figures" were needed to take a decision, the GoM, in its last meeting in August, had asked Civil Aviation Ministry to prepare a report on the projected passenger traffic at the proposed airport within the next three months, before its next meeting.
The GoM, headed by Union home minister P Chidambaram, would also go into the legal aspects of having a second airport within a 150-km radius, as it is prohibited under a 1997 rule.
The GMR-led DIAL has opposed the construction of the new airport saying it would be a competitor to the Delhi airport where a swanky new terminal (T3) came up recently.
DIAL had quoted the concession agreement that it had signed with the government, saying its clause on the 'Right of First Refusal' enabled it to be the preferred bidder for a new airport in the vicinity of the IGI Airport in case its bid is within 10% of the highest bidder.
According to a state government report, air traffic at the proposed Greater Noida airport in 2011-12 would be 8.65% of the total NCR traffic.
Mayawati government has high expectations with the project as the Cabinet has cleared a second airport in Goa at Mopa, which is about 70 km from the existing Dabolim Airport.
Similar clearances were also granted to proposed airports at Navi Mumbai and Kannur, both of which fall within a 150-km radius of airports at Mumbai and Kozhikode.
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