Noida Authority has given in-principle approval to begin developing an artificial intelligence (AI) City-cum-business park and cleared proposals covering information technology (IT), IT-enabled services (ITES), automobile infrastructure, solar power and logistics. The decisions were taken at the authority’s 224th board meeting and include plans for zoning changes, telecommunications infrastructure and revised property fees. The AI City will be developed under Uttar Pradesh’s Private Business Park Development Scheme, 2025. The authority will invite requests for proposals to select a master developer through competitive e-auction under a design, build, finance, operate and transfer model, while retaining ownership of the land. The development is expected to include global capability centres, research facilities, start-ups and skill development, with at least 50 per cent of built-up space reserved for IT and knowledge-based services. The initial lease will run for 45 years and may be extended by another 45 years. A 68,000-square-metre plot in Sector 147 was approved for an institutional IT and ITES scheme aimed at creating a global capability centre hub and Grade-A office space. The board also approved a single-plot automobile complex on 12,596.64 square metres in Sector 105, with a floor area ratio of four, a maximum height of 20 metres and mandatory on-site parking. Construction must be completed in up to three phases within five years. Solar plants with combined capacity of about 15 MW will be installed at sewage treatment plants, multi-level parking facilities and underground Gangajal reservoirs under a Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model. About 8 MW will be installed at treatment plants and reservoirs and 7 MW at parking sites, with implementation through a power purchase agreement. The authority estimates the project could reduce emissions by about 500,000 t over 25 years. The board approved zoning changes to facilitate 5 per cent developed residential plots for farmers whose land was acquired, with further amendments subject to public objections and state approval. It reduced the transfer fee for operational industrial units from 10 per cent to 7 per cent and lowered the delayed shareholding-reporting charge from Rs. 500 to Rs. 300. Telecom application fees of Rs. 0.1 mn for new towers, Rs. 0.15 mn for existing towers and a Rs. 0.3 mn bank guarantee were removed. The city logistics plan, updated building regulations and a joint committee with Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities were also approved.