Around 16 firms took part in the RLDA's pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of Ahmedabad railway station

Artistic Impression of Redeveloped Ahmedabad Railway Station.

Around 16 infrastructure companies, including the likes of Larsen & Toubro Ltd, NCC Ltd., G.R. Infra, Dilip Buildcon, and PSP Projects, participated in the pre-bid meeting organized by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) for the redevelopment of Ahmedabad Railway Station.

The pre-bid meeting was held on July 18 and garnered massive interest from construction companies, including AFCONS, KEC International, Thoth Infrastructure Ltd., IRCON, Ayesa India Pvt. Ltd., Adishwaram Corporation, Tirumala Seven Hills Pvt. Ltd., SID Constructions, ITD CEM Co., Jindal Steel Power, and PDA Consultant, as mentioned in the RLDA press release.

This is the second time RLDA has held a pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of Ahmedabad Railway Station after the earlier tender for the station's redevelopment was scrapped by RLDA in May.

The earlier tender was cancelled because the bids received for Ahmedabad turned out to be too high compared to the cost estimated by the Indian Railways.

Last month, RLDA issued a fresh tender worth Rs 2,563 crore for the redevelopment of Ahmedabad Railway Station.

Afcons Infrastructure was the lowest bidder for the earlier tender issued by RLDA for the Ahmedabad station redevelopment project with a bid of Rs 5,355 crore, against the Indian Railways' estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore.

As part of the new tender, RLDA has allowed joint venture companies to participate. Companies were only allowed to bid as single entities in the earlier tender to redevelop Ahmedabad Railway Station.

Initially, bidders were required to provide proof of three significant works for eligibility. However, the revised tender now allows two companies in a joint venture to submit three major works together to qualify for participation.

The last date to submit bids for the new tender has been set as September 5, and the technical bids for the tender will then be opened on September 8, with the site visit scheduled for July 6, according to the tender document issued by RLDA.

According to the new plans, the station is designed to be multimodal and transit-friendly, aiming to seamlessly connect the railway station to the airport and the rest of the city. The station currently sees a daily footfall of almost 5 lakh people.

The redevelopment project is part of the Centre’s plan to modernize most high-density stations, ease passenger movement, and improve the business prospects of these assets.

In September 2022, the Union Cabinet sanctioned Rs 10,000 crore for the redevelopment of three major railway stations—New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

While Rs 5,000 crore was allocated for the New Delhi station, around Rs 2,000 crore was earmarked for CSMT and Rs 3,000 crore for the Ahmedabad station.

The work of redevelopment is targeted to be completed in 36 months after the tender is awarded.

The project envisages a holistic approach to the integration of heritage monuments and the new City Centre at the station, providing world-class infrastructure in the form of a Multimodal Transport Hub (MMTH), Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP), Skywalk, landscaped Plazas, etc.

The architecture of this station building has been inspired by Modhera Sun Temple. An iconic tower of the MMTH Building towards the Kalupur side will become a new landmark for the city of Ahmedabad.

A 15-acre Concourse Plaza and a 7-acre Mezzanine Plaza have been planned over the railway tracks. This concourse shall have a waiting area for passengers, equipped with facilities like toilets, drinking water, food courts, retail shops, kiosks, baby feeding rooms, etc.

An elevated road network shall decongest the station and facilitate the multimodal integration of railways with the National High-Speed Rail Terminal (Bullet Train), Metro & Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), offering an enhanced experience and mobility to passengers and city dwellers.