Noida's Film City Project Fails To Attract Suitable Developers, YEIDA To Float Third Global Tender With New Approach And Phased Development

The Film City project, proposed by the Uttar Pradesh government, will have a third tender floated this month by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).

This decision has been taken after the project received an underwhelming response in the first two rounds of bidding.

A pre-bid meeting is likely to be held next week where a final decision on relaxing the terms of the tender will be taken, as per a report by Money Control.

This development comes following a high-level meeting of senior officials in Lucknow on 5 April, to discuss the status of the proposed new Film City, as well as, the future course of action on the project.

“We will again float a global tender to select a suitable entity to develop the 1,000-acre Film City. The tender will be floated before the end of this month where we are likely to relax bidding terms,” stated YEIDA CEO Arun Vir Singh, as per the report.

He added that the authority is looking to relax certain terms, such as removing the requirement of a 60-year lease with a 30-year extension.

This may instead be revised to offer a direct lease of 90 years, in response to bidders who have shown interest in the project with a preference for a direct lease period of 90 years.

New Proposal for Phased Development

According to officials, in the upcoming third global tender, YEIDA may consider developing the Film City project in three phases, as it might be challenging for a single entity to undertake the project in one go.

According to a Times of India report, the phase wise development will have separate tenders issued for each phase.

YEIDA officials have clarified that Film City will still be built on 1,000 acres despite the project being separated into three phases.

The initial phase of the project will cover 400 acres in Sector-21, situated off the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.

The lack of success in attracting applicants to the first and second rounds of tendering has led the authorities to rethink the project's schedule and how it will be divided to attract applicants.

The final decision on the project's timetable will be made by the state government's bid-evaluation committee. 

Lukewarm Response From Developers

The UP government's ambitious Film City project has been facing obstacles in finding developers to undertake the project.

The new Film City is proposed to be developed in Sector 21, located 6 km away from the upcoming international airport in Jewar and 12 km away from the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.

The project's first global tender was launched on November 22, 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.

Following this, the authority and the state government decided to revise the detailed project report (DPR).

The DPR for the film city was prepared by Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE).

YEIDA hired the American commercial real estate services and investment firm as the consultant for the DPR in 2021.

On 13 October, 2022, the state government approved the revised tender. The second request for proposal was published on October 17, 2022 with the deadline of 28 February 2023.

The last date for the second global tender was further extended to 31 March.

However, none of the applicants met the required technical or financial capabilities. The high project cost, standing at Rs 10,000 crore, was reportedly a significant hurdle for the developers.