Mumbai Heritage Committee gives nod for CSMT station redevelopment

The Central Railway is all set to invite fresh tenders for redeveloping the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) as it has received approval from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). According to an official, after getting approval from the MHCC, the documents will be sent to Public-Private Partnership Approval Committee (PPPAC), after which a new request for quotation (RFQ) cum request for proposal (RFP) will be invited. Earlier, the railway department had planned to redevelop the CSMT on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. However, it was declined in favour of the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), which is a combination of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and build operate and transfer (BOT) models where the railway station will be leased out to the developer for 27 years. In HAM, the railways will invest 40% of the project cost of around Rs 1,350 crore, and the developer would invest the rest 60%. Unlike earlier, the central railways will have to repay the investment amount of the developer in the next 27 years to get back the possession of the station from the developer. Earlier, RFQ and RFP were invited, and nine companies participated, including Adani, Godrej and Oberoi had submitted the proposal. However, the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC), redeveloping the railway stations, was dissolved into the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), resulting in the cancellation of the whole process and a few changes were done in designing and planning. Image Source Also read: Mumbai railway stations to witness a complete makeover