Rlys’ station development arm considers ₹ 600 cr to award projects

The HINDU Business line Our Bureau | Updated on February 12, 2019 

IRSDC requires ₹ 7500 crore to develop 50 railway stations. File Photo - The Hindu

Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) -- which has been made the nodal agency for redeveloping stations – is likely to get a loan of ₹ 600 crore from Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC). These funds will be used for Anand Vihar, Bijwasan and Chandigarh on engineering procurement contract (EPC) basis. Work on project will start by the end of this month.

IRSDC requires ₹ 7500 crore to develop 50 railway stations. It is working on various modes of developing these stations. That said, when it awards the stations for development to various developers, the present contracts will continue, Vishwesh Choubey, Member-Engineering, Railway Board, said.

From these 50 stations, for 43 stations, it has handed over the planning and project management consultancy work to four public sector enterprises.

The PSUs – RITES, Engineering Projects (India) Limited, Bridge and Roof Company (India), Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (India) Limited, and National Project Construction Corporation – have been awarded 43 stations for deciding the architect, and plan for the development. IRSDC has done this to utilise the expertise of various public sector enterprise.

The stations for development were decided on the basis of a study by Boston Consulting Group, which identified the feasible stations.

“We will try to get upfront payment for station development, so that we can use the funds for different projects. We will have upfront payment by developers, along with revenue share for stations where there are not much takers for revenue share,” said Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, Managing Director, IRSDC.

IRSDC plans to invite tenders for Nagpur, Baiyappanhalli (Bengaluru), Amritsar, Gwalior and Thakurli, which will be developed on either government funded (engineering procurement contract mode). Surat multi-modal hub will be on done on design-build-finance-operate and Terminate basis.