Kushinagar airport gets Centre nod, to invite bids

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Lucknow: The Rs 560-crore greenfield Kushinagar international airport project in Uttar Pradesh is finally ready to take off. A committee headed by the infrastructure and industrial development commissioner has cleared request for qualification (RFQ) and request for proposal (RFP) for the project and the document now awaits nod from the state Cabinet before the bid process is set in motion.

The project, which is being touted as integral for the integrated development of the entire Buddhist circuit, is to be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis.

“The detailed project report (DPR) has been cleared by the Centre and we are waiting to go to the market for bidding. We hope to invite bids from national as well as international developers by November 25 and expect to hand over the project to the developer by March next year,” said an official of the state government on the condition of anonymity.

The basic qualification required for bidding for the project is previous experience in airport operation or even an airport commissioning experience and a net worth of Rs 300 crore. The bid parameter will be the minimum viability gap, the official added.

While the state government has already received the Centre’s and the Airport Authority’s recommendation to go ahead with the project, it has now applied for a clearance from the Air Force and the environment ministry.

It may be mentioned that the circuit is a big draw among Buddhists pilgrims, particularly from East Asia, South-East-Asia and South Asia but tourism prospects in the area still suffer due to the lack of infrastructure facilities. It is this gap that the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Corporation (UPTDC), which is pursuing the project, aims to fill by commissioning an international airport in the area.