Indian Railways' initiative to redevelop and transform the New Delhi railway station has taken off to a great start, with as many as 20 international and domestic companies evincing interest in the project which is expected to be completed over four years at Rs 6,500 crore, reports Livemint.

Some of the noted players which took part in the pre-bid meeting held by Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) include France-based Socié té Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), Arabian Construction Company, Anchorage Infrastructure, GMR, Adani Group and JKB Infrastructure.

The Government is pursuing the project in a public-private partnership model with a concession period of 60 years for the selected project executioner. The project will include not just the redevelopment of the station, but also the development of associated infrastructure, refurbishment of railway offices and quarters, and relocation of social infrastructure.

Not only does the project involve the building of five-star and budget hotels, office spaces and serviced apartments on approximately 30 acres of land, it also involves plans to set up a business district on the outer circle of Connaught Place and near Bhavabhuti Marg. The redeveloped station will also be connected to Delhi Metro's dense rail network.

The private entity which wins the project will get to earn revenues on the investment made on the project from passenger handling fees collected via ticket sales, revenues from retail areas, lounges, parking area, advertisement spaces et cetera.