Film City: Twice Unlucky, Yamuna Expressway Authority To Float Third Global Tender Soon

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is all set to float a new modified tender with fresh provisions for its ambitious Film City project.

The Film City project is proposed in sector-21 on a land parcel of 1,000 acre, and is located 6 km away from the upcoming international airport in Jewar and 12 km away from the eastern peripheral expressway.

The decision to rework tender has been taken after the project received an underwhelming response in the first two rounds of bidding.

A high-level meeting of senior officials in Lucknow, on 21 August, gave contours to the development plan of the proposed new Film City.

The new tender conditions would be placed before the state cabinet for final approval, after which the Authority will issue the bid.

“I am hopeful that we would be able to issue the tender next month,” Dr Arun Vir Singh, CEO of YEIDA, said.

New Set Of Conditions

The first phase of the Film City will be developed in an area of 230 acre. However, the whole 1,000-acre land parcel in sector-21 near the Jewar Airport will remain intact and be developed in other phases.

Out of 230-acre land, 155 acre has been earmarked for industrial use and the remaining 75 acre has been designated for commercial use where shopping complexes, plaza, mall, service apartments, villas etc., will be developed.

Also, the concession period for the lease of land has been increased to 90 years instead of the current (60+30)-year lease plan. A stipulation will be in place, prohibiting the company from sub-licensing parcels of land smaller than one hectare.

Lukewarm Response

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's ambitious project has been facing obstacles in finding developers to undertake the project.

The project's first global tender was floated on 22 November 2021, but it only managed to attract a single applicant. The bid was subsequently disqualified, going as per the minimum requirement of having at least three participants.

Subsequently, the Authority issued a second tender in October 2022, with the deadline of 28 February 2023. The deadline was repeatedly extended till 31 March 2023, but no bids were received.

As such, the Yamuna Authority in the last week of June held talks with hollywood film production studios Fox and Universal, seeking their inputs before floating the third global tenders.

Earlier in May, YEIDA held meetings with filmmakers, production houses and music companies, and sought their inputs to understand the preferences of the industry.

Industry players that were consulted include music companies and production houses such as Sony and T-Series, Omaxe (the developer that is part of a consortium with Adlabs Films), the Star TV group, multiplex chain PVR, and streaming services MX Player and Zoom TV.

The authority is also in touch with filmmakers and actors like Rajinikanth, Anil Kapoor, KC Bokadia, Rajpal Yadav, and Kailash Masoom.