UP govt may approve city’s heliport project in a month, says Noida authority CEO

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the Noida authority to give required approvals for the project’s bid document at the earliest

The Noida authority on Thursday said that it may start the work on the heliport project in the city in the next three to four months, if everything goes according to the plan.

The Noida authority hopes that this project will attract private companies because of big-ticket projects scheduled to come up in Gautam Budh Nagar soon. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the Noida authority to give required approvals for the project’s bid document at the earliest. The development came during a meeting which was held in Lucknow, and was attended by the officials of Noida and Uttar Pradesh governments.

“The finance department in Lucknow will review the project, and we will then start tendering the process to rope in an agency for the development of the project. Hopefully, the process will be completed within a month,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer (CEO) of Noida authority.

After the finance department reviews the bid document and the detailed project report of the heliport project, the Uttar Pradesh government will give a nod to the Noida authority to float a tender for the same. The city authority has decided to develop this aviation hub comprising a heliport on the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

“Since it is a PPP project, the finance department needs to review the project and then clear it,” Maheshwari added.

After the tender is issued, the Noida authority will select one developer who will apply for the development of the project. The process of finalising the developer may take two to three months, provided at least three developers apply for the project during the tendering.

The heliport project will have one helipad and four aprons which will be large enough to park 10 helicopters at a time. One hangar and one terminal building will be established, and the car parking will have a space to house at least 50 four wheelers.

The agency interested in establishing the heliport will have to invest ₹43 crore according to the estimates provided by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES). The project cost includes passenger terminal building, air traffic control tower, hangar, earthwork, pavement work, cost of equipment and other supporting services, said the officials.

Popular among VIPs, corporate houses, senior executives, foreign delegates and those dealing with medical emergencies, the catchment area will be broadened to connect the popular tourist towns within a 400-km distance, they added.

The Noida authority hopes that this project will attract private players because of Jewar airport in Noida and Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi; and several other big-ticket projects such as Film City, multi-modal logistics hub and international transport hub in Greater Noida are also scheduled to come up in Gautam Budh Nagar soon.