CIDCO Extends Navi Mumbai Airport Bid Deadline Till February 13

The deadline to submit bids for the proposed Navi Mumbai Airport was extended for the second time on Wednesday, till February 13, by the nodal agency, City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).

Only one of the four pre-qualified bidders, GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL), has submitted a bid so far.

“Yes, we have extended the bidding to February 13 as we want to give bidders more time to participate,” said Bhushan Gagrani, vice-chairman and managing director of CIDCO.

What next?

The three other qualified bidders -- GMR Airports Ltd., Tata Realty Ltd. and Hiranandani Group-Zurich Airport consortium -- did not submit their quotations till the window was open on January 25.

GMR Airports Ltd. (GAL) had earlier told BloombergQuint that they did not submit a financial bid due to certain clauses and delay in pre-development work.

Gagrani does not agree. “The bidders have already been given a clarification on the project during the pre-qualified bidding process,” he said.

The nodal agency is not too keen on amending existing rules in the bidding document, said Gagrani, as it would mean changing the entire qualification criteria.

“It was a thoughtful process. The rules and specifications are made after consulting international agencies. So there is no question of changing them for the bidders. Also, it now can't be changed mid-way through the process,” Gagrani said.

Another option for the agency could be to attract fresh bidders. But since these four companies have been chosen after a pre-qualification process, inviting other companies is also out of question.

The second airport in Mumbai has been on the drawing board for two decades now, first due land acquisition hurdles and then procedural delays.