DGCA Gives A Green Signal To Proposed Heliport At Greater Noida

Greater Noida, a part of National Capital Region, is a happening real estate destination. The city enjoys an enviable location in terms of connectivity and easy approachability. It is just an hour from Indira Gandhi International Airport, quite close to Ghaziabad railway station and the Greater Noida corridor becoming operational, will make it well-linked to the capital city via Delhi metro.

Greater Noida is an attractive investment option due to features like ample greeneries, wide and well-developed roads, huge variety of residential options in affordable housing segment and good infrastructural development due to the prominence of big corporates and IT companies who have set up their offices in this city. More and more number of people are flocking to this region in search of better job opportunities and thus have resulted in real estate development of Greater Noida. With the growing investor confidence, the region is having a multitude of residential options varying from flats, apartments to studios and many others. The residential area has all the civic utilities like schools, colleges and hospitals located nearby.

Greater Noida outshines its neighboring areas in NCR as it has a balanced mix of ready-to-move and under-construction properties. Affordability and ample availability of projects makes the place a much sought after destination by property seekers. The region enjoys good connectivity to Noida via Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and is also linked to Dadri and Ghaziabad via various sector roads. The Yamuna Expressway connects it to places like Agra and Mathura.

The place holds an optimistic future as an excellent investment option. Proposed economic drivers like night safari, F1 track and freight corridor, excellent facilities, good transportation network and a horde of upcoming infrastructural developments are going to make the city a hot investment destination. The upcoming international airport at Jewar shall also be an added advantage to the city’s real estate.

There is good news for the residents of the city as Greater Noida’s ambitious plans of housing its first heliport get a nod head. As per the latest information, the project has got its necessary approval and No Objection Certificate from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India for the heliport to be set up in Greater Noida. An inspection and survey of the proposed site of the project had been conducted by RITES, the project’s technical consultant along with a distinguished group of aviation experts from DGCA, and on receiving a satisfactory report, the NOC and approval has been issued in a short time span of less than a month.

The pilot project might be a joint venture between the well-reputed helicopter company, Pawan Hans and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA).

As confirmed by the CEO, GNIDA, after getting an NOC from DGCA, the next step would be to take all the necessary clearances from Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Environment and Forests to get an Environment Impact Assessment before starting work for the project.

The company Pawan Hans has shown a keen interest in the Joint Venture with GNIDA for the launch of the project, and since the project is to be developed on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, the UP government needs time to take any decision. Till then the company officials have been asked to draft a formal proposal of the same which shall be forwarded by GNIDA to the respective state government.

It is aimed to be Delhi-NCR’s largest heliport that shall be developed on a PPP model. The Rs 50 crore project shall be located along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway in Safipur village near Gautam Buddha University and is proposed to be built across 22 acres of landscaped terrain. Keeping in mind, the future expansion of the project, an additional land area of 15 acres has also been kept reserved for the same. It is projected that once the construction of the project starts, which is likely by 2016 year end, it will take two years to set the aviation project in place.

After taking the mandatory security and environment clearances, a private agency shall be hired through global tenders to manage and run the project.

The proposed heliport shall prove to be a valuable asset both for the neighboring areas as well as for the UP government. As planned, it will enable helicopter flights at reasonable rates and to all the neighboring cities. Besides providing passenger services, it shall also be useful for promoting the tourism of the state, for medical and evacuation purposes in case of any emergencies. Flights to religious places like Kedarnath have also been planned and at much lower rates.  There shall be ample space and facility to park 20 helicopters at one time. It will have provisions for other basic conveniences like maintenance garage, maintenance facility for helicopter operators, enough parking spaces, on time scheduled commercial flights administered by private agency and above all a helicopter training academy. The facility can also be availed by realtors, corporate houses, or politicians at the time of elections, but on payment basis.