The upcoming airport along the Yamuna Expressway is expected to trigger unprecedented economic growth in the region, Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) chief executive officer RK Singh said on Thursday. He said the project would create at least 5,000 direct jobs while opening up new business opportunities across multiple sectors, alongside a structured recruitment and training framework for project-affected families. NIAL, the special purpose vehicle formed by the Uttar Pradesh government along with the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, is overseeing the implementation of the Noida airport project. According to Singh, concessionaire Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd has partnered with more than 30 companies to build and operate various components of the airport ecosystem. These partners include Tata Projects, Travel Food Services, Indian Oil, Air India SATS and Bird Group, and are expected to generate a wide range of technical, operational and commercial roles as the airport moves closer to operations. Officials said all positions would offer competitive compensation packages in line with government-notified minimum wages, along with bonus, provident fund and ESI or employee compensation coverage, in addition to gratuity and leave benefits. To ensure project-affected families receive priority access to employment, NIAL, Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd and the district administration have launched a dedicated online job portal where vacancies are listed and candidates can upload their resumes. More than 180 members from project-affected families have registered so far. A joint committee comprising representatives from NIAL, the district administration and the concessionaire has also been set up to oversee recruitment, training and grievance redressal. Recruitment activity is already under way. Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd and its partner companies have conducted three exclusive recruitment drives for project-affected families on September 11, October 31 and December 2, attracting over 300 candidates. Twenty-four offer letters have been issued so far, with further hiring rounds planned in the coming months. In recent months, youths from several affected villages have staged protests alleging that employment assurances given during land acquisition were not being met, claiming they were being offered outsourced roles instead of permanent positions. Officials said recruitment is being conducted strictly in accordance with government norms through companies involved in airport operations, and that all statutory benefits would be provided. The airport is scheduled to open with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers per year and will be expanded in subsequent phases. The project is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a 40-year concession.