Adani, GMR Among 14 Major Players Keen To Develop Surat, Udaipur Stations

Adani, GMR and Monte Carlo among 14 leading developers, Funds and consultants have participated in the pre-bid meeting regarding redevelopment of Udaipur, Surat and Udhna railway stations.

The pre-bid meeting was conducted by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC), mandated to redevelop these three stations.

The objective of redevelopment is to transform the stations at par with those of an international airport for a superior travel experience offering state-of-the-art amenities.

Other leading players who are keen to join the race include Kalpataru Group, Cube Constructions, JKB Infrastructure, MBL Infrastructures, GR Infra, Thoth Infrastructure, PSP Projects, Virtuous Retail South Asia, Sikka Associates, Egis India and Adroit Financial.

Describing the response as "overwhelming", IRSDC Managing Director and CEO SK Lohia said, “We are enthused by the response in this recently concluded pre-bid meeting for redevelopment of Surat, Udhna and Udaipur stations. The stations will be redeveloped in line with global standards to transform them at par with international airports and provide world class amenities to the travellers."

The Udaipur Railway station will be redeveloped on a Design-Build Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) model on the principle of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).

The total area for development is 4,98,115 sq.m, and the built-up area for station estate development is up to 1,01,374 sqm.

The indicative cost for redevelopment is Rs 132 crore over a three-year timeframe while the concessionaire period is 60 years.

The redevelopment of Udaipur Railway Station envisages a new east-side entry station building, providing new East-West Road connectivity through Railway Under-Bridges, connectivity with ISBT through commercial land via a network of pedestrian walkways, and easy signage for all types of passengers.

The redevelopment of the Surat station will be carried out by a special purpose vehicle — Surat Integrated Transportation Development Corporation Limited (SITCO) — incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, as a joint venture amongst IRSDC, GSRTC and SMC, with the approval of Ministry of Railways and Government of Gujarat.

The total area for development is 3,31,491 sq.m. for the Surat station and 7,38,088 sq.m. for Udhna Railway Station.

The built-up area for station estate development is approximately 4,65,000 sq.m., and 37,175 sq. m. for the Surat Station and Udhna Station, respectively.

The indicative cost of the Surat and Udhna railway station redevelopment project is Rs 1,285 crore over a four-year timeframe.

Proposed amenities in the Surat project include improved connectivity and circulation plan for seamless access and movement, a new East-West Road to provide connectivity to the eastern side, a central concourse and walkways as passenger interchange plaza providing seamless interconnectivity to railway platforms, GSRTC terminal, BRTS/City bus terminal, proposed Metro, parking zones, recreational zones and easy signage for passengers.

Lohia said, "The station redevelopment will confer several benefits in terms of improved connectivity, multi-modal transport integration and boosting retail and real estate. It will also lead to the generation of employment opportunities, thereby ushering a socio-economic transformation of the respective regions."

IRSDC is driving the agenda of station redevelopment envisioned by the Government of India, with the participation of private players as a part of PPP projects.

As part of this agenda, work on the redevelopment of 125 stations is in progress. Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations, and RLDA is working on 60 stations and two remaining stations by Railways itself.

As per current estimates, the total investment needed for the redevelopment of 125 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore.