21 august 2024 : The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) said on Tuesday that it has offered a 200-acre land parcel for free to Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, which has expressed its intention to develop a race track and training centre for motorbikes on the lines of the Buddh International Circuit F1 track along the 165km Yamuna Expressway.
Yeida CEO Arun Vir Singh said it has earmarked the land parcel in Sector 22F as it will be suitable for the purpose Ducati wants it for. He was speaking after Ducati’s managing director Bipul Chandra and director Sunil Kumar Sharma met him at the authority’s office on Tuesday morning, officials said.
“We have decided to provide Ducati 200 acres of land for free under public-private-partnership model so that they can invest and develop this racing track and training centre. Under Uttar Pradesh’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy we can give 75% subsidy on land to a foreign company and take equity of 25%. Under this policy we can allot the land for free because the company that wants to invest can come to develop mega projects that helps in boosting growth and job creation,” Arun Vir Singh said.
Yeida officials said it has got adequate litigation-free land in sector 22F as it acquired the agricultural land from farmers long back. Ducati wants to build the facility in the area because it enjoys world-class infrastructure, be it expressways, Metro connectivity that will be a reality in the future, or the Noida International airport that is slated to get operational by 2024 end.
“The Ducati officials also discussed the upcoming MotoGP race event scheduled in March next year. We also discussed the issues which were faced by Ducati and other motorbike companies during the MotoGP race held in September 2023. The key issues are related to track, taxes, visas, fees to use track, and others. Ducati officials informed that participating in bike events in the region is a costly affair at present due to high transportation cost and participation fees. As Ducati has experience in developing tracks and holding events in other countries, we offered them land here, which is almost free of cost.”
The Ducati officials told YEIDA that they would discuss the project with senior company officials and respond. Yeida officials said bike races are frequently organised at the Buddh circuit but high costs prompted them to look for a facility dedicated to motorcycle racing.
“Buddh track is built for car racing and the motorbike companies or racing agencies have to modify the circuit for motorbike events every time. The agencies have spent huge amounts to change the design of the track and in preparing additional facilities,” the Yeida CEO said.
“We are helping the international players to invest and help in fuelling growth in this region because the (UP) chief minister Yogi Adityanath wants to create opportunities for youth through such mega projects,” said Singh.
Hindustan Times tried to contact Bipul Chandra and Sunil Kumar Sharma for their comments on the proposal, but could not reach them. HT also sent them an email but hadn’t received a reply till the time of filing the story.