Five bus stands to develop as bus ports in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: The Yogi Adityanath government has planned to upgrade Uttar Pradesh's bus stands on the lines of airports.
In the first phase, 23 bus stands are to be constructed on the PPP model, for which the process of selecting private developers is underway. The selection of private developers for five bus stops has almost been completed. The work will start after getting the Chief Minister's approval.
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has received an investment proposal for Rs 1,000 crore to transform these five bus stands using a PPP model on the lines of airports. The investment is expected to create more than 2,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. The procedure for selecting developers for the remaining bus stops will soon be finished.
Through the bid process, which ended on February 16, the department received a number of investment proposals, including from those who had submitted proposals through the UPGIS (Global Investors Summit). The department has currently finalized five investor-cum-developers regarding the construction of bus stands. Work will start on this after the approval of the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Chief Secretary and then the Cabinet. It is estimated that by the end of this month, a Letter Of Intent (LOI) will also be issued to them.
The five bus stands include Kaushambi bus station, Vibhuti Khand bus station in Lucknow, Prayagraj Civil Lines bus station, Old Ghaziabad bus station, and Agra Fort bus station.
The bids of numerous other builders, including Omaxe and SPG Builders, have been included for the modernization of these bus stations. According to investment proposals received, Kaushambi bus station will cost Rs 245 crore, Vibhuti Khand Rs 307 crore, Prayagraj Civil Lines Rs 276 crore, Old Ghaziabad Rs 114 crore, and Agra Fort bus station Rs 22 crore.
These proposals have been accepted but are yet to be finalized. For the rest of the bus stations, the process of selection of developers and agreement is in progress. Recently, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had instructed officials to speed up the process and complete it soon.
The Corporation has also received investment proposals in another category that is related to IT, in addition to modernizing bus stations. According to Yujvendra Kumar, GM (IT) of UP Roadways, one company that has expressed interest in this market is Paytm, which intends to introduce NCMC cards in association with the state transport department.
Talks are ongoing between the department and Paytm regarding this, and an agreement is anticipated soon.
In addition, Vritti Solutions, another company, wants to put up display panels at bus stops. The company will install free-of-cost display panels at various places as per the conditions of the department and the income generated through advertisements on this will cover its expenses. The discussions with the company are ongoing, and an agreement may be reached soon.
Similarly, discussions are going on with a company, Orion Pro, which wants to introduce ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) in the department's IT system, which will improve departmental efficiency.