Ahmedabad, Oct 17 (PTI) A Gujarat government entity on Tuesday said the proposed project to install a London Eye-like giant Ferris Wheel on the banks of the Sabarmati river could not be implemented due to the failure of a UK-based firm to submit techno-feasibility reports.
The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL) stated that the Letter of Intent (LoI) issued to the proposer firm Saloria Architects of the United Kingdom (UK) in 2016 was cancelled by SRFDCL in November 2018.
SRFDCL is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for developing the Sabarmati Riverfront.
The statement comes in response to a media report which highlighted that the much-hyped project, for which the MoU was signed in 2011 during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, has been shelved by SRFDCL.
SRFDCL said Saloria Architects had signed an MoU with the Gujarat Tourism Department in 2011 to install a giant Ferris Wheel, modelled on the famous London Eye, on the Sabarmati riverfront between the Sardar Bridge and the Ambedkar Bridge.
In January 2014, only one bidder- Saloria Architects JV with Starneth Dubai- submitted an Expression of Interest (EoI) to SRFDCL, as per which the entire project of installing a giant wheel and other attractions would cost nearly Rs 1,600 crore and land admeasuring 20,500 sq meters will be required for this project.
In September 2016, SRFDCL sent a LoI to the bidder firm asking it to submit a detailed proposal along with a techno-feasibility study report within three months, the SRFDCL said.
However, despite giving three extensions and stretching the deadline till November 2017, the proposer firm could not submit the report. Since there was a clause in the letter of intent that the LoI could be cancelled if the bidder failed to submit the study reports, the project committee of SRFDCL finally cancelled the LoI in November 2018, as per the release.
“These facts about the London Eye project show that SRFDCL was not responsible for any error or delay in the implementation of the project. It was the UK-based agency which was responsible for the non-implementation,” it added. PTI PJT PD NSK
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