Turbulence hits Mopa again

PANJIM: When Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Mopa airport little did he know the project has run into rough weather.
For the fourth time in three months the dates for the financial biding has been postponed.
The State government had issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the proposed Greenfield airport at Mopa on January 15, seeking bids from interested companies to construct the airport. The five shortlisted companies were given 90 days, which was till April 15, to respond and bid for the project. However, the bid date was extended by a month to May 16, “on request of the bidders”, government officials said.
Thereafter the bidding was again postponed to June 24 but it was not to happen and was postponed to July 11. Now officials say it will not be held even on July 11 as only two companies have submitted their bids. The other companies have sought more time to submit their bids. According to officials in Civil Aviation Department, bidding will now be held by July end.
The five shortlisted companies include GVK, GMR, Essel Infra-Mumbai, Airports Authority of India and Voluptas Developers Pvt Ltd.
Sources reveal the companies have expressed reservations over clauses in the bid document and hence are cautious before bidding.
“There have been several clauses like training of local youth in aviation sector, etc, which is something new and unacceptable to the bidders plus there are also issues viz-a-viz revenue sharing with the government,” sources said.
Parsekar told reporters that a final extension would be granted till the end of July. “Due to some problems the bidding cannot be done on July 11 but the process will be completed by July end,” Parsekar said.
Civil Aviation Director Suresh Shanbhogue when contacted refused to comment on the matter saying he has no knowledge of the development.