Lucknow: Adani, GMR Among Seven Players In Fray For Redevelopment Of Charbagh Railway Station

Adani Railways Transport, GMR Enterprises, ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments and Kalpataru Power Transmissionave are among the seven major companies that have emerged as the prospective bidders for the redevelopment of Lucknow's iconic Charbagh railway station, reports Financial Express.

The request for qualification (RFQ) applications for the project opened on 15 March 2021, and 24 June 2021 was the last date for submission of the application. GR Infaprojects, Megha Engineering & Infra and Welspun Enterprise were other players who participated in the RFQ.

Now the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) will float an RFP (Request for Proposal) for the selected bidders.

It should be noted that the redevelopment of the Lucknow Charbagh railway station is part of the Indian Railways’ station redevelopment project. The project entails 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.

There are two components in the redevelopment programme — the station redevelopment and the development of the surrounding railway land for pre-approved commercial and residential development.

The report adds that the cost of phase 1 is estimated at Rs 442.5 crore over three years, while phase 2 is estimated to cost Rs 114.3 crore over two years, taking the total cost of the project to Rs 556.8 crore.

“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 as quoted by the report.

“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.

The statement also added that the design would incorporate the green building concept and shall adhere to the life-cycle cost minimisation approach.