Boney Kapoor's firm wins bid to develop Film City project in Noida

Lucknow, Jan 31

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor's Bayview Projects LLP and Bhutani Group will jointly develop the Film City project in Noida's Sector-21, near Jewar airport, as they placed the highest bid, surpassing the other three players, officials said.

"The committee of officials of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) opened the financial bids. The Bayview Projects LLP and Bhutani Group placed the highest bid, promising the maximum 18 per cent share of the profit to the government, thereby becoming eligible for developing this project. Lions Films Private Limited of KC Bokadia quoted 15.12 per cent while Supersonic Technobuild Private Limited of actor Akshay Kumar and Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited of T-Series placed 10.80 per cent and 5.12 per cent respectively," officials added.

Arun Vir Singh, Chief Executive Officer, YEIDA, said, "Following the guidelines of the public-private partnership, the proposed bids will be presented before the committee of secretaries, and subsequently, they will be forwarded to the state government cabinet for the necessary approvals."

"Once the Cabinet gives its approval, the highest bidder will receive the letter of award," Singh added.

"We are pleased to be chosen and are eager to commence work at the site once all necessary procedures are completed. Our goal is to develop the Film City project within a span of three years. In the initial phase, we plan to develop commercial facilities on 75 acre out of the total 230 acre," said Ashish Bhutani, Chief Executive Officer of Bhutani Group.

On November 23, 2021, YEIDA issued a global tender for the Film City developer selection; however, no one came forward to take up the project.

In response, YEIDA revised the Detailed Project Report, and on November 7, 2022, a second global tender was issued, with no interest shown this time as well.

On September 30, 2023, YEIDA issued the tender for the third time, setting January 5, 2024, as the last date for bid submissions.

Subsequently, on January 27, YEIDA opened the technical bids, qualifying four companies and paving the way for the opening of the financial bid on Tuesday (January 30).