Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) in December 2019 invited RFQs (Request for Qualification) with a view of redeveloping the four Railway stations namely Gwalior, Nagpur, Amritsar & Sabarmati, and transform them into iconic city centers. IRSDC opened the RFQ applications of these four railway stations on Friday.
IRSDC received an overwhelming response from developers and fund houses despite the current COVID19 scenario. In total, IRSDC received 32 successful applications. JKB Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., GMR Business and Consultancy LLP, ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd., Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Ltd., Monte Carlo Limited, GR Infra Projects Ltd., Kalyan Toll Infrastructure Ltd., Cube Construction Engineering are some of the names from whom applications have been received.
Out of the 32 applications, 9 applications have been received for Sabarmati station (Ahmedabad). The applicants include two ‘Funds’ also apart from reputed developers.
The total Indicative cost for the redevelopment of the above four stations is about Rs. 1300 crore. The total built-up area (BUA) allowed for commercial development is 54 lakh sq. ft. No land-use change and prior environmental clearance is required for these projects as these are Railway projects under Railway Act 1989. IRSDC is the nodal agency for the redevelopment of stations.
These four Projects are the first railway projects to have in-principle approval of the Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), formed by GOI for PPP projects. These four stations are also the first ones to have a provision of pre-determined user charges on passengers and visitors as one of the main revenue streams for the concessionaire of the redeveloped stations.
After shortlisting the applicants, Request for Proposal will be called in which bids will be submitted by the bidders. It is likely that the work will start soon in all four projects.
Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) is a Joint venture company of RLDA and IRCON with 50:50 ownership presently. RITES is also likely to join shortly as another promoter with 24% equity so that RITES and IRCON shall jointly hold 50% equity. IRSDC is at the core of Indian Railway’s mission of transforming the country’s railway stations into world-class 24×7 hubs.
These redeveloped hubs will be called as ‘Railopolis’, as it will attract huge investment and business opportunities. With the application of Form-Based codes developed by IRSDC, the availability of public areas in Railopolis shall increase thus making such redeveloped railway stations as true city centers.
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