The first phase of Navi Mumbai international airport will be complete by 2018 with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers.
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which issued the request for qualification (RFQ) for the airport project on Wednesday, hopes to acquire the 247 hectare by June.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the bidders are expected to submit RFQ till June 18. The airport will be developed through public private partnership on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.
The Navi Mumbai airport project will be developed on 1160 hectare and it is expected to have an ultimate capacity of 60 million passengers per annum.
CIDCO’s vice chairman Sanjay Bhatia clarified that the compensation for the project affected persons is not cash for land but it land for land.
Of the 2,268 hectares required for the airport project, 1,572 hectares is already in CIDCO’s possession. Earlier, CIDCO had projected phase I completion by 2017.
While the GVK group’s Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has the right of first refusal in the bidding process and will be deemed to have qualified for bidding process on submission of a certification from Airports Authority of India for execution of Mumbai airport project.
However, the Tata group may not be able to participate in the project bid process because of a clause which restricts an airline or its associate company from holding more than ten per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle executing the project.
Tata group has a 51 percent stake in Tata-Singapore Airlines and holds 30 per cent stake in AirAsia India. Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited (TRIL) has been keen to participate in various airport projects and had tied up with Singapore’s Changi airport to develop and manage airports in India.
“We have not seen the RFQ document as yet. TRIL will consider bidding for the airport only after going through the bid documents in detail,” a company spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the TRIL had not yet formed a consortium for Navi Mumbai project.
GMR group which manages Delhi and Hyderabad airport said it was evaluating the investment opportunity. GVK group and Reliance Infrastructure group did not comment. Essel Group too has shown interest in airport development projects in the country and has tied up with US based ADC & HAS Airports Worldwide as its partner.
