Leading property developers have entered the fray to build India's first airport mall. The mall, which would come up at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi is expected to be built with a budget of Rs. 600 crore.
The five companies that have qualified are DLF, Bharti Land, Phoenix Mills, K Raheja Corp and Xander Group. The mall will be spread across an area of 2 million sq. ft and would cater to passengers as well as Delhi and Gurgaon residents, who live in the surrounding areas, Mint reported.
The companies are required to submit detailed bids by May.
"The proposed integrated retail development is going through bidding process as per and in accordance with statutory requirements/provisions of OMDA (Operations, Management and Development Agreement) and with approval of the DIAL board," a Delhi airport spokesperson was quoted as saying by the publication.
The spokesperson further added that a request for qualification (RFQ), which helps shortlist firms qualified to build a project for retail developments, was reportedly issued on Nov. 5, 2015.
"India doesn't have the mall of this scale yet. When one builds mall of such a scale, it usually becomes a destination for people from all over. The size is such that it can accommodate everyone, so retailers do not want to miss out," Ashutosh Limaye, research head of property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle's India unit, was quoted as saying by Mint.
Last month, the Delhi International Airport Limited or DIAL had submitted aviation secretary RN Choubey plans of expanding the infrastructure of IGI airport and constructing a fourth runway, which if approved, would be completed by 2020.
DIAL is a joint venture company collectively owned by the GMR group, Airport Authority of India and Fraport that operates the IGI airport. The Delhi airport is India's largest airport in terms of passenger traffic and is the base for Air India, Indigo and Vistara airlines.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
