Seven companies, including Adani Railways Transport, GMR Enterprises, ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments and Kalpataru Power Transmission have emerged as prospective bidders for redevelopment of the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow.
GR Infaprojects, Megha Engineering & Infra and Welspun Enterprise are the other bidders who have participated in the RfQ floated by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) on 15th March 2021. The last date for submission of applications was 24th June 2021. After the bidders are shortlisted, RLDA will float an RFP (Request for Proposal) for the selected bidders.
The station will be redeveloped on a Design-Build-Operate-Finance-Transfer (DBFOT) model in two phases at a total cost of Rs 556.8 crore.
The redevelopment of the Lucknow Charbagh railway station is part of the Indian Railways’ station redevelopment project, which will include the complete development and redevelopment of the Lucknow (NR) and the Lucknow Junction (NER) stations, along with the commercial land parcel of 12.23-acre.
The redevelopment encompasses two components — the station redevelopment and the development of the surrounding railway land for pre-approved commercial and residential development. While the cost of phase 1 redevelopment is estimated at Rs 442.5 crore over three years, phase 2 is expected to incur a cost of Rs 114.3 crore over two years.
“Lucknow is among the fastest-growing cities in North India. The city is home to several manufacturing and processing units and possesses a robust administrative, banking, and financial network of institutions. The redevelopment of the Lucknow railway station will augment the tourism potential and lead to employment generation. It will also boost real estate in the vicinity and have a formidable socio-economic impact on the region,” said Ved Parkash Dudeja, vice chairman, RLDA.
Once selected, the concessionaire will be mandated to undertake the upgradation and redevelopment of the Lucknow railway station, including both the components, followed by its operation and maintenance. The selected developer will also be responsible for arranging and paying for all the utilities and payment of taxes, scrutiny fee, infrastructure charges, and other cess and taxes to the local body as per the prevailing norms.
“The objective of the redevelopment is to equip the station with state-of-the-art amenities like segregation of arrival and departure, air-concourse, footover bridges, lifts and escalators, conducive facilities for the specially-abled passengers, and to ensure a hassle-free travel experience,” an official statement said, adding that the design would incorporate the green building concept and shall adhere to the life-cycle cost minimisation approach, which will be the hallmark of the newly-redeveloped station.
RLDA is currently working on 60 stations in a phased manner, while its subsidiary, IRSDC has taken up another 63 stations. In the first phase, RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, Cuttack and Puducherry for redevelopment. The railway stations across India will be redeveloped on a PPP Model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the Government of India.