Centre directs Yeida to select developer for Jewar airport

The ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) has asked the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida), the nodal agency appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government for the Jewar airport project, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the consultant for the project, to prepare a bid document to select a concessionaire who will develop the international airport along the 165km Yamuna Expressway.

The civil aviation ministry has directed PwC to prepare the bid document and float request for proposal (RFP) in July this year. With the help of RFP, the government will invite proposals from developers willing to take up this project. Jayant Sinha, minister of state for civil aviation, and other top officials discussed the terms and conditions of the bid document in Delhi on Tuesday.

“The minister and top officials discussed the broad guidelines under which the RFP document will be finalised. Now the PwC and the authority have all the necessary inputs to prepare the RFP. The MoCA also fixed a timeline to float the RFP in July. The PwC, along with us, have to deliver on it within the stipulated timeline. Once finalised, this bid document will become a model for the entire country for selection of the developers at other cities where airport projects are proposed. The PwC had prepared a draft of the bid document, which was discussed at the meeting. Now, along with the PwC, we will prepare a final bid document,” Shailendra Bhatia, officer on special duty, Yeida, said.

The ministry of civil aviation said that it will also invite suggestions from the public before finalising the RFP under which a developer will be selected.

“Once the RFP (bid document) is finalised by the PwC, it will have to be approved by the project monitoring and implementing committee (PMIC) headed by the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and, subsequently, by the UP cabinet before floating of the tender. The MoCA has directed the PwC to float the RFP to select a developer,” Bhatia said.

The estimated budget for the Jewar airport project is Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 crore.