Heliport plan: Lone bidder disqualified

Noida: The global tender for the heliport project in Noida’s Sector 151A will be floated again, as the single bidder could not qualify in the technical bid round. Officials said the company was disqualified based on a report from transport infrastructure consultancy firm RITES.
RITES has been appointed by the Noida Authority for the preparation of a detailed project report, bid documents and assistance during the bidding process to select a developer for this public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Two months back, the state government gave the go-ahead to the Noida Authority to consider the single company's bid for the heliport project, aimed at connecting the city with nearby religious places through chopper rides.
“Now, the global tender will be floated again, and for this, the Authority has sought an approval from the state government,” an official told TOI.
Officials said that changes would be made in the request for proposal (RFP) of the scheme to ensure that more companies come forward for the project. Like in the past, if a single company submits the bid this time also, then it would be considered.
The single bidder had applied in March for the Authority’s global tender for the construction of the proposed heliport. As per rules, the work was not allotted to the company at that time.
Later, a high-level meeting of senior officials from the state government, Noida and RITES was held in May to decide the future course of action. The Authority had then apprised the government that one firm had come forward for the project on the PPP model, and sought further guidance.
Subsequently, the PPP bid evaluation committee of the UP government gave permission to the Noida Authority to open the technical bid of the single company, which had applied for the heliport project. The Authority had then sent the technical bid of the company to RITES for evaluation.
The estimated project cost is Rs 43.1 crore. According to the terms of the project, the private firm will pay the revenue to the Authority in terms of per passenger and land lease charges. Officials said that even Bell 412 (12 seaters) and MI 172, the largest helicopter having 26 seats, could be operated from this heliport.