Hermann Tilke-led team may design GIFT City F1 track

A consortium of German Formula 1 racetrack designer Tilke, real estate consultancy company CBRE and architecture firm Arcop ranked the highest on a list of six international consultants that are competing for designing a racetrack in Gujarat's GIFT City that could position the financial centre also as an international sporting destination, according to people in the know.

The Tilke-led consortium scored 98% marks in an evaluation conducted by Sports Authority of Gujarat during March 7-8 and is likely to be granted the work order to develop a design for the F1 track, the people said.

The project could cost up to ₹10,000 crore.


The other groups of international consultants that competed for the project included globally renowned F1 racetrack designers.

British designer Clive Bowen's consortium with KPMG came in second with a score of 91%. The other bidders included a consortium led by Ahetesham Khan of Nangia Andersen with Italian track designer Jarno Zaffelli and Isha Rathee-led Populous Design that bid solo. International architecture firms Collage Design and Cox Architects and DAR Consultants were also among the bidders.

Tilke did not respond to ET's queries. CBRE and Arcop declined to comment. The other bidders also did not comment.

Sports Authority of Gujarat director general RS Ninama did not respond to emailed queries till press time on Sunday.

The winning bidder will have to present a plan to the sports authority by August 31 (this year) on the feasibility and potential design of a racetrack.

GIFT City, located in Gandhinagar, has been developed as a financial centre to attract international companies to set up shop. The government expects multiple businesses to be drawn to the city because of the tax breaks it is offering them.

There is a major focus on developing entertainment and leisure infrastructure to make the city liveable. For instance, projects are under way to build an underwater aquarium, water sport facilities and a retail zone with a 158-meter-high ferris wheel.

The addition of a F1 racetrack could relaunch India as a motor sport destination after a failed attempt in the last decade. The Buddh International Circuit launched in Noida in 2011 hosted only three F1 races in 2011, 2012 and 2013 after which races were discontinued. The track was built by Jaypee Group which entered into a race promotion agreement with Formula One. However, due to a tax dispute on the interpretation of whether Formula One should pay taxes in India on the race promotion fee earned by them from Jaypee, the races were discontinued.

"Formula 1 coming back will be a major boost for motor sport in India," said Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian driver to compete in the F1 championship.