Contracts to revamp New Delhi, Ahmedabad stations 'axed' over pricey bids

Union Cabinet sanctioned much lower amounts than bids received for mega redevelopment projects

The railway board has cancelled tenders for redeveloping the New Delhi and Ahmedabad stations due to exceptionally high bids, sources said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in September 2022 sanctioned Rs 10,000 crore for work at New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) stations, but the lowest bids for the first two terminals were more than Rs 14,000 crore combined--much more than the Centre’s spending estimate.

'Business Standard' reported on April 10 that L&T had emerged as the lowest bidder for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender for the New Delhi railway station at Rs 8,740 crore. Ahluwalia Contracts was the lowest bidder for CSMT.

Sources said that Ahluwalia Contracts, with its Rs 2,450-crore bid, was awarded the Mumbai contract as its bid was close to the Centre’s own estimate.

Infrastructure major Afcons was the lowest bidder for the Ahmedabad station: the company’s bid of Rs 5,400 crore was also considered outside of the railways’ comfort zone.

The cancelled contracts are the latest in thwarted government’s attempts to redevelop the New Delhi railway station.

The railways ministry, through its executing agency Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), will restart the contract process and seek fresh approvals before issuing any fresh tender for the New Delhi station, setting the process back by months.

Till as late as April 2022, the Centre had maintained that the marquee railway stations would be redeveloped under public-private partnership (PPP) mode. “New Delhi railway station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus are identified for development under Hybrid Built Operate Transfer model of Public Private Partnership (PPP),” the railways ministry had told Parliament then.