Lone bidder waits in wings, RITES to clear heliport bid

Noida: The Noida Authority has sent the technical bid for the heliport project to RITES, a transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering firm, for evaluation after the public-private partnership bid evaluation committee of the UP government gave its approval.
Once approved by the engineering firm, the report would once again be tabled before the committee for opening the financial bids. In the next stage, if this bid is cleared, then the project would be awarded to the lone company that has applied for it, officials said.
According to a government order, the director of the UP civil aviation department will participate in the next meeting of the committee.
Through the heliport project, the authority plans to connect the city with nearby religious places by choppers. The authority has appointed RITES for the preparation of a detailed project report, bid documents and assistance during the bidding process to select a developer.
The government’s decision will now give momentum to the project. Once the work starts, it will be ready in a year, officials said. The earlier deadline to complete the project was June 2022.
A single bidder had applied in March for the authority’s global tender for the construction of the proposed heliport in Sector 151A. As a rule, the work was not allotted to the company at that time.
Earlier in May, a high-level meeting was held in this regard in which senior officials of the state government, Noida and RITES participated.
Noida had apprised the government that one firm had come forward for the project on the PPP model, and sought further guidance.
According to officials, the estimated project cost is Rs 43.1 crore and the expected project revenue is Rs 11.1 crore in 2025. The expected revenue for the authority is Rs 26.6 crore, which will be raised from land lease and the revenue share.
According to the terms and conditions of the project, the private firm will pay the revenue to the authority in terms of per passenger and land lease charges.
Officials said helicopters like Bell 412 (12 seaters) and MI 172, the largest helicopter having 26 seats, could be operated for emergency and VIP movements.