Ahmedabad Railway Station Redevelopment: Delhi Metro Rail Joint Venture Emerges As Lowest Bidder

Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon-Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DRA – DMRC joint venture) has emerged as the lowest bidder for the redevelopment work of Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station in Gujarat.

Earlier in July 2023, the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) had invited bids for the redevelopment of the Ahmedabad railway station in the engineering, procurement, and construction mode at an estimated cost of Rs 2,563 crore.

Notably, this is the second time RLDA has invited bids for mega project. A total of sixteen firms including Larsen and Toubro (L&T), NCC and GR Infra evinced interest in the second bid round.

The earlier tender was cancelled in April 2023, as the bids received turned out to be too high, compared to the cost estimated by the Indian Railways. Officials said against the estimated project cost of Rs 2,563 crore, Afcons Infrastructure, the lowest bidder, placed a Rs 5,355 crore bid.

The redevelopment project involves completely transforming the existing Indian Railway facility into a modern facility with commercial, residential and retail developments that integrates local heritage monuments strewn in the vicinity, such as Brick Minar and Jhulta Minar, notes the MetroRailGuy.

Ahmedabad Railway Station, which falls under the Ahmedabad division, is the biggest in Gujarat. It has 12 platforms and houses two minarets as remnants of Sidi Bashir Mosque that are deemed as a Heritage structure.

The station handles an average footfall of around 52,843 commuters daily.

In a statement, vice-chairman of RLDA Ved Parkash Dudeja, said, “The iconic city of Ahmedabad is one of the largest cities in the country and serves as a focal point for economic growth and prosperity. It is in this backdrop that RLDA has invited bids to redevelop the Ahmedabad railway station to the highest international standards which will integrate different modes of transport including high-speed rail, metro, BRT and city buses and will serve as a city centre.”

An open-air amphi-theatre has also been planned on the lines of the one at Adalaj ni Vav.

It is worth mentioning that the Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon (DRA)'s joint venture with IRCON is also building the Ahmedabad station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Corridor.

Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail will traverse through Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Junction railway station and shall be integrated with Saraspur side of the existing Ahmedabad station.

The Ahmedabad HSR station will be built over the existing railway platform numbers 11 and 12.