A total of 11 firms, from both India and abroad, have evinced interest in building the proposed pod taxi project connecting the Noida International Airport in Jewar to Sector-21 Film City.
The pre-bid meeting on Wednesday (19 July) organised by the Uttar Pradesh state government evoked good response, with participation from PRT UK, Larsen &Toubro, Systra France, Ultra PRT, Siemens, Tata, IRB Infrastructure, Intamin Transportation (Switzerland), Hyundai, Kalpataru and Invest India.
The queries of prospective bidders pertaining to extension of the date for the global tender, sharing of profit, and grant status in the project were discussed at length in the meeting.
Officials from Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) which is executing the project, assured to look into the queries put-forth at the meeting and present their response soon.
The meeting was conducted as a sequel to the global ‘Request For Proposal’ floated by the authority on 1 July for the state-of-the-art pod taxi system from Jewar International Airport to Film City.
The deadline to submit preliminary bids is 10 August and technical bids will be opened on 16 August.
PRT System
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a state-of-the-art form of public transport (PT) that uses small, automated electric ‘pod cars’ to provide a taxi-like service for individuals or small groups of travellers.
The pod cars run on a segregated guideway in order to ensure unhindered direct trips between origin and destination.
With high vehicle speeds and very small headways, PRT provides fast, individual, on-demand and point-to-point PT with very short waiting times.
The Project
Earlier in March 2021, the authority had engaged Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited, a central government agency, to devise a detailed project report (DPR) for the pod taxi project.
After some modifications, the authority approved the final DPR in May 2023.
The alignment of PRT starts from crossroad of Sector-20 and Sector-21 along the 100-m-wide road and has 12 stations en-route till it reaches Jewar International Airport.
The 14.6-km-long project will be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 641.53 crore on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.
The authority will enter into a concession agreement with the concessionaire for 35 years, for operation and maintenance of the PRT system, including two years for the construction of the PRT system.
The pod taxi connectivity will not only provide non-stop transport link with film city from international airport, but also provide connectivity to various sectors like Sector-21, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34 and 35.
The pod taxi project is planned for completion by 2024, coinciding with the launch of the first phase of the Noida airport.