 "New Delhi railway station")
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Shapoorji Pallonji are among the 10 infrastructure companies, which have evinced interest in the Rs 4,700-crore mega redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station.
The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) concluded a pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment tender, the railways ministry arm said on Friday. It added that the contractors attended the meeting.
RLDA had to refloat the tender after the previous tender for the facelift was scrapped at the financial bidding stage.
L&T and Shapoorji companies were also bidders in the earlier botched tender where the bids were found to be too high against a modest government estimate of Rs 5,000 crore. Both had bid close to Rs 9,000 crore for the project then.
“It was found then that the assessment of construction risks by the private players was very different from the ministry’s.
We had to restructure several aspects of the scope of work to make the project economically feasible for both the ministry and the contractor,” a top railway official told Business Standard on Friday.
“The pre-bid meeting was extremely fruitful and this time the feedback has been positive. We are hopeful of closing the deal this time,” the official added.
Certain aspects of execution, which required complex engineering, were removed from the tender this time.
The meeting was attended by prominent construction houses such as L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, NCC, GR Infra, Dilip Buildcon, J. Kumar Infraprojects, Ahluwalia Contracts (India), PSP Projects, ITD CEM Co and Tirumala Seven Hills Pvt Ltd, among others, the RLDA said in a press release.
“The scope of work includes, but is not limited to, undertaking civil and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) works for the station building and associated infrastructure. This primarily consists of dedicated access roads (elevated/at-grade), multi-modal transit hub (MMTH) buildings, roof plaza, parcel building and development of surrounding circulation area, among others,” RLDA said.
According to the Centre, the bidding process will be a single-stage, two-packet one. And, construction of the project is expected to be concluded in approximately four years, after awarding of the contract.
“This comprehensive development plan envisions the station as an integrated transportation hub, seamlessly connecting rail, metro, bus, and other modes of transport, ensuring convenient and hassle-free connectivity for passengers.
The associated infrastructure construction includes the development of commercial spaces, multi-modal integration facilities, modern passenger terminals, parking facilities, world-class waiting lounges, and other amenities. These will cater to the needs of all classes of passengers,” Ved Prakash Dudeja, vice-chairman of RLDA said.
The last date for submission of e-bid is September 29. The date of opening of the technical bids is October 5.
In what has been an uncomfortable wait for rail users, the tender will be floated for the third time in as many years.
The initial plan was to redevelop New Delhi, along with major marquee stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The plan was later dropped despite significant interest from the private sector.
Now, the New Delhi station will be developed in engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode.
Currently, infrastructure constraints at the station continue to be a sore point for travellers.
The national transporter hopes to finally execute the long-awaited revamp now.
