Ircon, ACC to join hands for New Delhi railway station redevelopment bids

State-run Ircon International has decided to join hands with Arabian Construction Company (ACC) to jointly bid for the much-hyped redevelopment plan of New Delhi railway station.

Nine global and national leading companies, including ACC, Adani Railways Transport, BIF IV India Infrastructure Holding (DIFC), ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments, Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings, Kalpataru Power Transmission, GMR Highways, Omaxe and Elpis Ventures had submitted a request for quotation for the redevelopment of New Delhi station.

"We are going to jointly bid for the New Delhi station," said S K Chaudhary, chairman and managing director of Ircon. The project is expected to incur a cost of Rs 6,500 crore. The plan is to redevelop the station into an integrated commercial, retail, and hospitality hub.

New Delhi Railway Station Redevelopment is a flagship project of the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), and the first to be undertaken on the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) concept in Delhi-NCR. The Project will offer multiple revenue streams to the developer, including revenue from real estate rights and is slated to be completed in around four years. The concession period will be for 60 years.

On the other hand, Delhi-based construction major Parnika Commercial & Estates has won the Rs 384 crore contract for redevelopment of Safdarjung railway station in New Delhi.

The project envisions the redevelopment of Safdarjung railway station as a modern transportation hub with integrated transport and office development. The development will include platforms, foot over bridges and also retail space that will be monetised by the company.

It was in 2017 that Ircon International and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) had signed a memorandum of understanding to redevelop the station. "Sikka Associates will be the architect for the project and the contract will be for a period of 30 years," Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary added that Ircon expects an increase in its turnover to around Rs 6,000 crore in the upcoming financial year, up 20 percent from 2019-20. However, during the current fiscal, it is expected to be down 10 percent compared to the last year.