GMR Infra, Adani Group, Reliance Infra and L&T are among the prospective investors for developing the Rs 16,000-crore greenfield Jewar airport project in Greater Noida. Several executives from the probable companies attended the pre-bid conference on Monday. According to the Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) officials, foreign firms like Zurich Airport International and Hong Kong ADP have also purchased the bid document. Other probable suitors for the Jewar airport include Mumbai airport operator GVK Group, Bengaluru airport owner Fairfax India, sovereign wealth fund NIIF and PNC Infrastructure.
State-owned Airport Authority of India, which leased out six of its profit-making airports under the PPP model, also participated in the pre-bid conference. The bidding for Jewar project is expected to witness keen competition between existing players and new entrants as it will be the second airport in the national capital region. It will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Adani Group marked its entry into the airport business earlier this month following the Union Cabinet’s nod to operate three of the six airports it won under competitive bidding in February. In March, Tata Group, along with international investors, picked up a stake in GMR’s airport business for Rs 8,000 crore. NIAL, which is implementing the project, has set per passenger fee as the criteria for bidding out the airport. It is offering a concession period of 90 years to the winning bidder, who will be responsible for development, operation and maintenance of the air-side, terminal and land side infrastructure like car parking and retail area.
NIAL is expecting more firms to participate in the bidding for the project.
“The initial response has been good. Several major airport developers have shown interest in the project. We expect more investors to bid for this marquee project,” said Shailendra Bhatia, nodal officer, NIAL. The last date for submitting bids is October 30, 2019.
The construction for the first phase, on 1,334 hectare of land, is expected to begin in January 2020 with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (mppa). Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport is choked due to rapid growth in passenger traffic in the last three years. It handled more than 69 mppa in FY19 as against its designed capacity of 70 mppa which makes the second airport in the NCR necessary.
