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Our Bureau

New Delhi June 15 The Government hopes to award the New Delhi railway station modernisation project by December this year so that the project is ready by 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, expects the project size to be roughly in the range of Rs 5,000 crore.

Railways said it would decide on the consultant to advise it on design parameters for the station in about a week.

The Prime Minister's Committee on Infrastructure (CoI) on Friday appointed an inter-ministerial group to under the Railway Board Chairman to evolve a model concession agreement (MCA) for railway station modernisation by October 31.

The group would have Secretaries of the Planning Commission, Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Urban Development and Department of Legal Affairs as members. The agreement would be the standard document for inviting bids from developers to redevelop the identified railway stations on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer mode.

For ensuring better inter-ministerial coordination, an Empowered Committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary has been constituted in which Chairman, Railway Board, Secretary (Planning Commission), Home Secretary, Secretary (Economic Affairs), Secretary (Urban Development), Secretary (Environment and Forests), Chief Secretary (Government of Delhi), Vice Chairman (Delhi Development Authority) and Chairpersons of Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Corporation would be ex-officio members.

CONSULTANTS

Meanwhile, Indian Railways has received six bids from consultants for the modernisation. "They include Hongkong-based Terry Farrel & Partners Ltd, France based-Arep Ville, German firm Von Gerkan Marg and Partners, Hok International (Hong Kong), Aedis Ltd (Hong Kong) and RITES from India," said the Railways Minister. The consultant would be decided within a week and the construction award would be decided by December this year, he added.

The Railways had invited requests for proposal from consultants to advise Railways on the detailed design parameters, technical, financial and legal aspects of the process to be adopted for modernising the station.

Currently, New Delhi station handles an average of 3.5 lakh passengers per day. Every day, 256 trains, including 78 suburban trains arrive or depart from 12 existing platforms of this station. Four new platforms are being constructed on the ground, which will be ready by end of 2007.

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