Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids to lease out vacant land parcels in Guwahati and Chennai.

While seven land parcels measuring over nine acres in Chennai are being offered by the railways for commercial exploitation, another vacant land parcel for residential-cum-commercial development at Ambari Chowk in Guwahati is also on the offer.

The site spans 9,488.22 sqm and is situated in the heart of Guwahati, at a prominent corner location of Ambari Chowk, which is just about 1.30 kilometres from Guwahati Railway Station.

The land parcel falls in Lumding division of the North East Frontier Railway. It has a potential built-up area (BUA) of 26,092.61 sqm, and has a reserve price of Rs 69.90 crore for a lease term of 99 years.

The last day for submission of e-bids is 6 August 2021.

The land is bounded by and has frontage on three sides with CK Agrawala Road in the north, Ariz Path in the east, GNB Road in the south and residences in the west, with excellent connectivity to all parts of the city via road network.

"Guwahati is referred to as ‘Gateway to North East India.’ It has witnessed rapid infrastructural development over the years. It is well-connected to West Bengal, Bihar and the rest of India via road, rail and air. The land parcel at Guwahati is suitable for mixed-use development that will have a multiplier effect on the local economy. It will boost realty, retail and economic development in the region,” said RLDA Vice Chairman Ved Parkash Dudeja.

The lessee will be granted the lease rights and right to access the redevelopment land for designing, financing, constructing and vesting of the redevelopment assets. He/she will be responsible for securing necessary approvals from the local authorities for the construction and will be facilitated to complete the construction of the developer portion as per local building bye-laws within four years.

In Chennai, two of the land parcels of 2.5 acres each and one land parcel of 3.6 acres are in the Ayanavaram Railway Colony, situated along Konnur High Road and Duncan Road.

Other land parcels are located at Walltax Road near Basin Bridge (0.27 acres), Pulianthope (2.09 acres), Victoria Crescent site located at Victoria Crescent adjacent to Ethiraj College (0.43 hectares) respectively.

Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, has emerged as a prominent realty hub owing to the growth of the IT/ITes sector in the past few years.

Developments such as Chennai Metro, the Comprehensive Infrastructure Road Development Programme of Tamil Nadu and the up-gradation of the Chennai International Airport will further bolster real estate prospects in the city.

Apart from this, a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the Egmore Railway Colony will be invited shortly.

"Chennai is poised to emerge as a realty hub due to a spate of rapid infrastructural developments and a conducive push by the Tamil Nadu government. Indian Railways has several land parcels in Chennai that are strategically located and suitable for commercial development, Dudeja said.

Sites situated at Ayanavaram, Walltax Road, Pulianthope, Victoria Crescent sites across Chennai are on the offer.

Once completed, the redevelopment of these sites will generate employment opportunities, boost real estate and retail and have a multiplier effect on socio-economic development in the region," Dudeja added.

RLDA is a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways for the development of railway land. It has four key mandates as a part of its development plan, namely leasing of commercial sites, colony redevelopment, station redevelopment and multi-functional complexes.

Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India. RLDA is currently handling 84 railway colony redevelopment projects and has recently leased out a railway colony in Guwahati for redevelopment.

RLDA has over 100 commercial (greenfield) sites across India for leasing, and the eligible developers for each will be selected through an open and transparent bid process.

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.