Only four firms submit bids for redevelopment of Mumbai's CSMT station

CSMT's heritage building won't be touched but buildings nearby will be re-developed. (Image: PIB)

Only four companies have submitted bids for the Rs 1,800 crore redevelopment of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station, a UNESCO-listed world heritage site.

The companies are Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Afcons Infrastructure, Ahluwalia Contracts, and Nagarjuna Construction.

"The technical evaluation of the four submitted bids will be carried out in the next few weeks, following which the financial bids will be opened," a government official aware of the development told Moneycontrol.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) invited bids for the redevelopment of the iconic Mumbai station.

The redevelopment of CSMT will be carried out on a hybrid annuity model, under which the railways will have to initially invest 40 percent of the cost and the developer the remaining.

The RLDA concluded the first pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of CSMT in November and a second round of meetings were conducted in December.

Earlier, a Request for Quotation (RFQ) had been issued, in which nine bidders qualified, a second government official said.

The dropouts  

"The likes of Tata Projects, JK Infra, ITD Cementation, Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, Creative Group LLP, and Assystem Stup that had earlier bid for the re-development of CSMT station have not submitted bids in the current round," the second official said.

He added that the earlier RFQ was scrapped because the government made a few changes in the tender process to make way for more bidders to participate in the exercise.

The federal cabinet had in September 2022 approved the redevelopment proposals for three major railway stations - New Delhi Railway Station, Ahmedabad Railway Station, and CSMT, at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore.

CSMT's redevelopment earlier was to be carried out by the now defunct Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (RSDC) RLDA was made the project implementation authority last year.

CSMT is one of the busiest railway stations in India, handling some 1.6 million passengers per day.

The redevelopment will be based on the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC)model and implemented at a cost of more than Rs 1,813 crore.

Green building 

The redeveloped station will be a sustainable green building equipped with solar energy, water conservation and recycling, a sewage treatment plant, and a solid waste management system.

The redeveloped CSMT station will have a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities at one place along with space for retail stores, cafeterias, and recreational facilities.

Facilities like a food court, waiting lounge, and a place for local products will be available.

Both sides of the city will be connected through the station, with the station building spanning both sides of the railway tracks.

The station will also be integrated with other modes of transportation like the metro and bus. The station will be integrated with Mumbai Metro Line 3.

Restoring CSMT to past glory 

The redevelopment will also include segregation of arrival and departure passengers, ‘divyang’ friendly station for the differently abled, and will function like a city centre rail mall that would cater to most of the daily needs of a passenger passing through the premises.

Efforts would be made to integrate last-mile connectivity from the station.

CSMT is being redeveloped with the intention of preserving the grand heritage of the world and restoring the structure to its past glory.

The modernization was planned to decongest the southern heritage node of the terminus, augmenting facilities and enabling better multi-modal integration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of CSMT on January 19.