The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) on Friday received 10 bids for the redevelopment of Mumbai’s iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway Station. Developers include large players such as GMR Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, Adani Railways Transport Ltd, Brookfield Infrastructure Fund IV and Godrej Properties.

IRSDC said that it had invited Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the redevelopment of the railway station on August 20, 2020 on PPP, after approval of Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee. The pre-bid meeting was conducted on September 25, 2020, and was chaired by CEO, Niti Aayog and Chairman of the Railway Board,

On Friday the RFQ was opened in the office of IRSDC, New Delhi, and it has received an overwhelming response from developers and fund houses.

The RFQ has seen the best participation in recent times in terms of numbers of applications when compared to projects of Delhi Airport, Mumbai Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport or other railway stations, the statement said.

The entire bidding procedure is a two-stage bidding process consisting of RFQ and Request for Proposal (RFP). The selected bidder at the RFP stage shall take up the redevelopment of the railway station.

The salient features of the project include the extended O&M period of the railway station, for providing better passenger services and amenities. The railway station shall be on a licence with concessionaire for 60 years. It will bring additional revenue in the form of pre-determined user charges from railway station users as it is a practice in airports, the press statement said.

The project offers long term lease rights for real estate, which can be up to 99 years for residential or mix use format. The lease right is for 60 years for non-residential format. The project allows about 2.54 lakh square metres of built-up area (tentative) for commercial development.

The redevelopment cost of the station (mandatory cost) including the cost of financing and contingency is ₹ 1,642 crore. The investment opportunity for redevelopment is on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis.

The railway station is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Mumbai city. The redevelopment plan encapsulates integration of various modes to make it a multimodal transport hub. It will include segregation of arrival and departure, a better level of services for passengers, energy-efficient buildings and restoring the heritage siteas per its 1930 levels.

It would function like a city centre rail mall where in addition to transportation, retail, F&B, Entertainment and Souvenir shopping can also be done.

Published on January 15, 2021