SCR geneal manager Vinod Kumar Yadav (left), briefing the media on Budgetary Allocation for SCR | express photo
HYDERABAD: The plans to redevelop the Secunderabad and Vijayawada Railway Stations under Station Redevelopment Programme (SRP) on public private partnership (PPP) mode would inordinately get delayed by another few months owing to the lukewarm response from bidders forcing the Central Government to revise the rules.To encourage companies to take part in the bidding, certain rules have been relaxed by the Centre. The major concern raised by the bidding companies was about the lease period to make the project viable in the long term.
Central Government has decided to extend the lease period from 40 years to 99 years to make the project viable. Fresh tenders on modified Swiss Challenge method would be floated in another few months, revised tenders would be floated by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDCL), South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav said. The estimated investment for development of passenger amenities at Secunderabad station is `282 crore, while for Vijayawada it is `194 crore.
The SRP on Indian Railways, World’s largest such initiative is aimed at Redeveloping 400 Railway stations through partnerships with Private Players (PPP). With an overall size of `1 lakh crore, the programmme is one of the largest PPP programme undertaken in the country. The first phase of station redevelopment programme covering 23 stations was during February 2017. This covers Secunderabad and Vijayawada on SCR zone. The project is proposed under a Modified Swiss Challenge method, adapting the Quality and Cost Based Solution system.
The project will seek to involve State Governments, various Central Government wings, Global experts etc. Amongst the 400 stations selected on Indian Railways for the project, 36 are on SCR zone, which include five ‘A-1’ Category stations and 31 ‘A’ category stations. Eight SRPs are in Telangana that include Secunderabad , Hyderabad, Kazipet Jn, Khammam, Manchireyal, Warangal, Kacheguda and Nizamabad.
The commercial potential of vacant Railway land at/near stations will leverage developing world class stations and surplus generated from will be used to fund modernization of stations.
