BAPL may begin work on India's first aerotropolis in March

New Delhi: Work on the first-ever aerotropolis project in the country is likely to begin in April with the Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) awaiting the lease of additional land near Durgapur in West Bengal by March.
Besides an airport complex, the aerotropolis or an airport city would have residential areas, related facilities and industrial parks, including a 'Solar Valley' which would be a solar power equipment manufacturing hub.
The BAPL, which has received a total of 1,049 acres of land including the requisite 650 acres for the airport, is awaiting another tranche of 777 acres of land from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) that is also associated with the mega project.
The land is being given to BAPL through a 99-year lease agreement signed between BAPL and WBIDC.
"We will start construction as soon as we get this additional land, hopefully by mid-March. We hope to sign the lease agreement (for 777 acres) by the month end," BAPL CEO Subrata Paul said.
Singapore's Changi Airport International, which holds a 26 per cent stake in BAPL, has prepared the concept design and the master-plan of the airport complex and has prepared the Request for Proposal (RFP) document for engineering, design and building the project on a turnkey basis, he said.
The global bids on the RFP were floated on December 14 and the deadline for submission is March 9. The selected bidder would have to plan, design and construct the entire airport complex, including the terminal, tarmac, ATC tower and fire stations, Paul said.
21/02/10 PTI/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Feb 2010, New Feb 2010