Three out of the four companies shortlisted for the Navi Mumbai airport project – the Hiranandani Group, GMR Infrastructure and Tata Realty – have pulled out of the bidding process, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday. The three companies said their concerns included the incomplete resettlement of families and no pre-development work.

In a communication to the City and Industrial Development Corporation, the nodal body set up by the Maharashtra government for Navi Mumbai, GMR executive Sidharath Kapur said his company had eight reasons for pulling out, among them the fact that one of the few contracts awarded was given to GVK Power & Infrastructure, the only remaining bidder.

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Meanwhile, a Tata Realty executive told Cidco that “more than 3,000 families – about 10,000 people were still occupying the land” meant for the project. Hiranandani Group’s Managing Director Darshan Hiranandani said the cost of the project had escalated in the past few years. “Our bid proposal is ready, but under the current circumstances we will not be able to participate,” he said.

The companies have also said the 42-month time limit for completing the project is too short. A Cidco spokesperson said it had received letters from all the bidders and would examine them. A spokesperson for GVK, which also constructed the Mumbai International Airport, refused to comment.

Since its announcement, the airport project has been stalled because of land-acquisition, resettlement and environmental problems. In June, it was reported that the proposed site of the airport is home to 266 species of birds. The study by the Bombay Natural History Society led to speculation about the impact of the airport on the population of birds within a 10-km radius of the site, as well as on flight safety.