The centrepiece of the plan is the widening and redevelopment of the embankment road along the Yamuna River into a 10-lane bypass. The corridor will begin at Sector 94 in Noida and extend to Gharbara village in Greater Noida, where it will connect seamlessly with the Yamuna Expressway. At present, the road is four lanes wide. It will initially be expanded to six lanes and subsequently upgraded to 10 lanes to accommodate future traffic growth.
The project is being designed to integrate with the Chilla Elevated Road corridor, which is expected to significantly improve access from Delhi. The 5.9-kilometre Chilla Elevated Road, under construction from Mayur Vihar to Mahamaya Flyover, is scheduled for completion by December next year. In addition, a 1.4-kilometre elevated link road will be built from Mahamaya Flyover to Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station. This connection will enable vehicles travelling from Delhi to access the embankment road directly, bypassing the heavily congested Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.
Noida Authority Chief Executive Officer Krishna Karunesh said the redevelopment has become essential because traffic volumes are expected to rise sharply once Noida International Airport begins operations. Officials from the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority and the irrigation department have already conducted a site inspection to assess the project.
Following the preparation of a feasibility report, a Detailed Project Report will be drafted to determine the final design and implementation framework. The financial burden of the project will be shared jointly by the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna development authorities.
The road expansion comes at a time when questions are being raised about the airport's ability to attract passengers from the Delhi-National Capital Region. According to the latest LocalCircles survey, reported by Business Standard, nine out of 10 air travellers in the region are unlikely to use the more than Rs 11,000 crore Noida International Airport in its initial phase.
The survey found that 58 per cent of respondents from Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad would continue to prefer Indira Gandhi International Airport because of lower airfares and greater proximity. Fare comparisons illustrate the challenge. Flights from Noida to Lucknow are priced at nearly Rs 5,000, while tickets on the same route from Delhi are available for around Rs 3,600 during the corresponding period.
Operating costs at the new airport are also significantly higher. Domestic landing charges at Jewar are reported to be 119 per cent above those at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The User Development Fee is also expected to vary substantially, adding to passenger costs.
Noida International Airport is scheduled to commence commercial operations on June 15, with IndiGo serving as the launch carrier. The airline will initially operate flights to Lucknow, Bengaluru, Amritsar, Hyderabad and Jammu, with plans to expand connectivity to more than 16 domestic destinations within weeks of the airport's opening.
The parallel development of large-scale road infrastructure underscores the strategic importance of the Jewar airport project. While authorities are racing to ensure seamless connectivity, the airport's long-term success will depend on whether improved access and expanded flight networks can persuade travellers across the Delhi-National Capital Region to shift from the established Indira Gandhi International Airport.
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