IPRCL appointed as DPR consultant for ₹300 crore Film City -Noida Airport Pod Taxi Project

Noida, India (Urban Transport News): The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) on 18th March 2021 appointed Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited (IPRCL) as a DPR consultant to work on a ₹300 crore pod taxi project that will connect the Film City with the Noida International Airport at Jewar.

Arun Vir Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), YEIDA said that the authority has assigned the work to the Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation (IPRCL) on Thursday. It has started working on this ambitious project that will play a crucial role in boosting the connectivity between the Film City and the airport. It will be a world-class and iconic project in this region.

"The YEIDA will finalise the date following the completion of the project in a month when the detailed project report (DPR) of the project will be submitted. The DPR will give exact details related to alignment, funding pattern and the completion of the work," he added.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the YEIDA to work on projects to enhance the connectivity between the proposed Noida International Airport and other important destinations across the Delhi-NCR. A 6.5 km route has been planned to connect the proposed Film City project in Noida sector 21, along the 165 km Yamuna Expressway, to the Noida International Airport in Jewar with a modern Pod taxi System.

According to YEIDA officials, the work on the ₹25,000 crore airport project is likely to be completed by 2023-24, as the concessionaire of the project — YIAPL, which is a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International and has been incorporated to develop the Noida airport in Jewar, will start working at the site by mid-2021. Initially, the airport will begin operating with two runways, and the airport will have five runways at its full capacity.

Singh said that their aim is to complete the pod taxi project before 2023 when the airport will start its operations. The DPR will be completed within a month. Once the DPR is submitted, work for the next stage will start.

"The YEIDA has also planned to connect Greater Noida with the airport, through a pod taxi route. “First, we will build a pod taxi from the airport to the Film City, and then we will start working on a 30 km pod taxi project to connect Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk with the airport. The UP government has asked us to build a pod taxi from the airport to Greater Noida as it will be a part of the multi-model connectivity project that aims to connect the airport with over one mode of commuting,” Singh further added.

The 6.5 km pod taxi project will cost around ₹40 crores per km. The authority would need around ₹300 crores as per the initial estimates.

Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited (IPRCL) is a Joint Venture Company (JVC) between 11 Major Ports under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways holding 90% of equity capital and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) under the Ministry of Railways holding 10% of equity capital, incorporated with the objective to provide efficient rail evacuation systems to Major Ports and for enhancing their capacity and throughput.