Lights, camera, action: UP to float global tender for Rs 6,000-crore Film City

Lucknow

Positioned to rival the world’s largest Mumbai film industry nicknamed Bollywood, the proposed Rs 6,000-crore UP Film City in Greater Noida will soon witness a global tendering process for developing the mega project.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) was recently submitted to the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government by the project consultant, CBRE South Asia Private Limited, which has now been mandated to prepare the bid document within three weeks.

It will be followed by floating a global tender to invite the top national and international firms to participate, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) CEO Arun Vir Singh said.

Among the pet projects of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the UP Film City will provide jobs to 15,000 people and come up in Sector 21 of YEIDA in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

The construction of the project is expected to start in January 2022, weeks before the bugles are sounded for the crucial UP assembly elections, when the Yogi government will seek a reelection.

“The selection of the company to build the UP Film City in three phases will be finalised by December 31. There will be a 40-year agreement with the successful bidder. However, it will not be a lease agreement and the company will be given a license for developing the project,” he informed.

The project will provide impetus to the making of films in regional and vernacular languages and dialects, including Bhojpuri, Bundelkhandi, Braj etc.

Spread over an area of 1,000 acres, the sprawling Film City will be built on a public private partnership (PPP) model. In the first phase, studios, open areas, amusement parks and villas will be developed. The project, which will be equipped with the latest technologies in the cinematic medium, including digital, will also be known as ‘Infotainment City’.

The project will comprise dedicated studios for shooting of films, TV serials, animation, web series, cartoon films, documentaries etc. The UP Film City will have special effects studios, outdoor locations, hotels, club houses, villages, workshops, shopping complexes, food courts, amusement parks, entertainment facilities, convention centres etc.

The consultant had prepared the DPR under the light of the UP film policy, surveying world’s top film cities and incorporating the proposal of big filmmakers. It will be marketed as a tourism hub once commissioned.

Meanwhile, a film university will be set up as part of the holistic project where students will learn about the latest film making techniques. It will conduct research works on subjects related to films and cinema, and offer courses on making films as well as advertisement films.