New Delhi, March 28 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the first phase of the much-awaited Noida international airport at Jewar, marking a new milestone in aviation infrastructure development in Uttar Pradesh especially the western part of the state.

The opening of the new airport is set to benefit the local economy and boost industrial development in the region.

The Phase I of the airport has been developed at a total investment of around Rs 11,200 crore under a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. The airport will initially have a passenger handling capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and eventually serve 70 MPPA upon full development.

The cargo facility of the airport is designed to handle over...