Rs 1 lakh-crore station redevelopment plan undergoes an overhaul

According to reports, the station redevelopment plan chalked up by the former railways minister Suresh Prabhu may see an overhaul as present Railways Minister Piyush Goyal reportedly opines that the ongoing bidding process for 23 stations should be cancelled due to low interest. This decision was reportedly taken after Goyal’s meeting with big realty companies including Essel Group, Shapoorji Pallonji and Larsen & Toubro. As per reports, Goyal wanted to do away with the bidding because of the poor response received from major players. The railways miniter, instead, is reportedly of the view that the stations should be developed as per designs of a group of architects, through a separate SPV for each station. Private players will be offered stakes once construction has commenced, through the process of bidding. In Stage I, 15 stations are expected to be selected for redevelopment with an investment sum of around Rs 7,000 crore. The plan that was drawn up by Prabhu called for the redevelopment of 400 stations to be redeveloped at the cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore. The number of stations to be developed can remain, but instead of the Swiss challenge mode, the railways will appoint architects to finalise design of the projects.