Gujarat government to float SPV for phase-II of Science City project

Our Bureau

Ahmedabad, May 15: WITH the phase-I of the Rs 350-crore Gujarat Science City project slated for completion by January 2002, the Government of Gujarat (GoG) has decided to float a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the phase-II of the project on a Built Own Operate and Manage (BOOM) basis.

According to Gujarat Council of Science City member-secretary Sanjay Gupta, the council would invite private parties to pick up and maintain a minimum equity of 51 per cent in the SPV for an initial period of ten years. The right kind of BOOM partner will be selected on criteria like strong financial status, commitment for minimum yearly investment and to completing project on schedule, minimal demand for incentives or limited deviation from the original concept and layout, having the capability, expertise and experience of handling projects of a similar size, scale and type, he said. Mr Gupta said that the council, established by GoG as the nodal agency to execute the project, might itself take up some equity in the SPV by way of assets and land.
The council has considered other funding options too like approaching FIs or banks for term loans, floating FDs for periods varying from 1-3 years or deep discount bonds for long-term borrowings from the market. The council has already issued global tenders for erecting about 20 science and technology-based theme pavilions with 3,500 sqm of exhibition space for each on such themes like The Universe, Evolution, The Planet Earth, Environment & Ecology, Health, Biotechnology, Physics, and Chemistry. The ministry of defence has in-principle agreed to extend support for a Defence Theme Pavilion to be set up in the Science City.

While phase-I of the project will cost Rs 50 crore, phase-II will cost Rs 300 crore. Phase-I, which is nearing completion, includes a 1,200-seat amphiteatre and a 13,000 sq feet area which will comprise of a stage, a planetarium, cabins for computer games and a theme park by the Nehru Foundation for Development.

Construction is underway for other features of phase-I, including India’s first 3D Imax theater, a basic science pavilion, a pavilion of information & communication technology with a 10 mbps international Internet access gateway. The agreement for the purchase and installation of a 3-D projection system has been signed with Imax of Canada. Mr BV Doshi has been appointed as the architect for the project and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as project management consultants.

While GoG has already released Rs 30 crore for the project, a provision of Rs 27 Crore has been provided in the current year’s budget. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) have also chipped in with Rs 10 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively.