In a bid to make the Rs 21,000-crore Mumbai elevated corridor luctrative for private investors, Railways plans to offer more land around the project to the successful bidder for commercial utilisation.
The national transporter wants that concessionaires gets back a third of the project cost, or roughly R7,000 crore, from this commercial development so that the capital investment in its largest PPP project is recovered faster.
The railways have demanded enough floor space index adequate to help generate funds so that project becomes viable for the concessionaire. According to a rail board official, the national transporter has sought Maharashtra government’s permission to commercially exploit eight parcels of its land measuring 1.30 lakh sq metre to raise R7,000 crore for the 63-km-long Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor.
At several investment meetings, private investors have told railways to make the project commercially viable by making enough land available for commercial exploration.
?The project cost is too stiff and, to make it financially viable, we have suggested that the railways make land near train stations and the concourse area available,? said an executive of a private company, which has evinced interest in the project. The project is currently in the pre-bid stage and some of the major infrastructure companies such as L&T, IDPL, Gammon Infra, IL&FS Transportation, GMR Infra and CAF South Africa have shown interest in the project.