Giving wings to the proposed international airport in the Buddhist hub of Kushinagar, the Uttar Pradesh tourism department will hold a pre-bid meeting with the four interested parties on February 13, in New Delhi.
GMR, GVK, L&T and Gammon India had qualified to participate in the Request for Proposal (RfP) process for the proposed Rs 750 crore airport, spread over an area of 650 acres. It would be built under Design Built Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) basis under PPP.
After seeking clarifications and information about the project, these companies can file RfPs by March 4.
“We will acquire the land for the concessionaire, who will develop the airport after getting the land on 60 years lease,” UP tourism secretary and State Tourism Development Corporation managing director Avnish Awasthi told Business Standard.
The proposed airport will unlock the Buddhist tourism potential in this backward eastern UP region, which attracts pilgrims and tourists from the world over.
Awasthi said the basic airport could be ready for use in the next 2 years. “By March 2010, we expect to get the Letter of Intent (LoI), while the start up would take another six months.”
Meanwhile, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) South Asia CEO Kapil Kaul said Buddhist traffic was significant in the area, which had never been capitalised upon and the likelihood of the airport’s success was quite strong.
The Buddhist Circuit comprising Sarnath, Kushinagar, Sankisa Kaushambi, Shravasti and Kapilvastu attracts pilgrims from around the world, especially Japan and South East Asia.
