Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) invited RFQ (Request for Qualification) in August 2020 after ‘in principle’ approval of Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) to redevelop CSMT Railway station and transform it into iconic city centre.
- On 15th January 2021, IRSDC opened the RFQ applications of CSMT Railway station and received overwhelming response from 10 developers despite the current COVID19 scenario.
- IRSDC evaluated and shortlisted the applications received and out of the 10 applications, 9 applications are ‘Qualified’ for the next stage.
The 9 shortlisted bidders are:
- M/s Godrej Properties Limited,
- M/s Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited
- M/s Oberoi Realty Limited
- M/s ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments Pte Ltd.
- M/s Adani Railways Transport Limited
- M/s Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd.
- M/s GMR Enterprises Private Limited
- M/s Moribus Holdings Pte, Ltd.
- M/s BIF IV Infrastructure Holding DIFC Pvt. Ltd
The Applications were evaluated in accordance to the Financial Capacity, which had the following criteria:-
- Minimum Net worth: Rs 821 cr at the close of preceding financial year OR,
- Minimum ACI: Rs 821 cr at the close of the preceding financial year (for AIF or Foreign Investment Fund).
Bid Details:
- The construction and O&M experience capacity shall have to be met after the award of the project but before the Appointed Date.
- 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 CSMT Railway station.
- The Request for Proposal (RFP) for CSMT is under preparation and will be called shortly from the shortlisted applicants.
“Nine firms have qualified the RFQ stage for the redevelopment of CSMT station. As the next steps, IRSDC will float a Request for Proposal (RFP) soon to the qualified bidders. CSMT railway station redevelopment is one of our most ambitious projects and we at IRSDC are committed to transform the CSMT railway station into a state of the art transport hub” said SK Lohia, Managing Director & CEO – IRSDC.
The Key salient features of the project are:
- In principle approval of PPPAC comprising representatives from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law, Niti Aayog, Ministry of Railways etc, as per the Guidelines for PPP projects by Govt. of India;
- Extended O&M period of railway stations: For providing better passenger services and amenities, railway stations shall be on license with Concessionaire for 60 years;
- Additional revenue stream: Pre-determined user charges (as notified by MoR) from railway station users as in practice in airports etc;
- Long Term lease-rights for real estate: Upto 99 years for residential or mix use format & 60 years for non-residential formats.
- Upto 2.54 lakh sqm of Built up Area is permitted for commercial development.
- IRSDC will be a single window for approval of master plan and building plans in consultation with local authorities in terms of power conferred under Section 11 of Railway Act, 1989;
- The redevelopment cost of the station (mandatory cost) including the cost of financing and contingency etc. is Rs. 1642 crore. The investment opportunity for redevelopment is on DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) basis.
- The Technical Consultant of the project is M/s AECOM. The Financial and Transaction Consultant is M/s Knight Frank.
- With a view to facilitate redeveloping Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus – Mumbai and other railway stations in Mumbai metropolis, a decision to constitute a “High Level Committee” under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary has been approved by the Government.
Redevelopment of Railway Stations in India:
- Redevelopment of railway stations across India is a priority agenda of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.
- This agenda is being driven with full force by the Government with the participation of private players as a part of PPP projects.
- As part of this agenda, work on the redevelopment of 123 stations is in progress.
- Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations, and RLDA is working on 60 stations.
- As per current estimates, the total investment needed for the redevelopment of 123 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore.
About IRSDC:
Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) is a Joint venture company of RLDA, RITES and IRCON. IRSDC is at the core of Indian Railways mission of transforming the country’s railway stations into world-class 24×7 hubs and is the Nodal Agency and the main Project Development Agency (PDA) for the redevelopment of Railway stations. These redeveloped hubs will be called ‘Railopolis’, as it will attract huge investment and business opportunities.
To fast track the redevelopment of Railway Stations and harness the true value of commercial development, the following tools have been developed by IRSDC/MoR to streamline all processes for planning, designing, tendering, implementation and management of Railway Stations in India:-
- Model Agreements for Station redevelopment and Station Facility Management;
- Updation of Manual for Standards and Specifications for Railway Stations; brought out by MoR;
- Handbook for Master planning & Value Creation for Railway Station (Re) development;
- Harmonized Guidelines for Standards of Accessibility & Provisions of Facilities for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) in Indian Railways – by MoR
- Form-based codes for Commercial Development within Railway Land, comprising of:-
- Codes for Station Area Layout Regulating Plans
- Codes for Property Development Cards (Commercial Development)
- Codes for Architectural Design within Commercial Development
- Codes for Green Buildings within Commercial Development
- Handbook for Preparation of Layout Regulating Plans and Property Development Cards
- Codes for up-gradation of Heritage Railway Assets (For full project lifecycle)
With the application of these tools developed by IRSDC/MoR, the availability of public area in Railopolis shall increase, thus making such redeveloped railway stations as true “City Centres”.
Source: IRSDC-Press Release | Image Credit: MoR
