RLDA issues new Rs 4,500 crore tender to revamp New Delhi railway station

New Delhi Station Redevelopment

The Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) on July 4 issued a fresh tender worth Rs 4,700 crore for the redevelopment of the New Delhi Railway Station, according to documents seen by Moneycontrol.

The new tender is the fourth time that the RLDA has tried to move forward with its ambitious plan to redevelop the railway station. The earlier tender was dismissed in May as the bidders quoted much higher prices than the allotted cost, multiple company executives told Moneycontrol.

Larsen and Toubro had emerged as the lowest the last time with a bid of Rs 8,740 crore, exceeding the Indian Railways estimate of Rs 5,000 crore, sources said.

As part of te new tender, redevelopment work would be undertaken across 3.5 lakh sq meters of New Delhi Railway Station as against the proposed 4.5 lakh sq m that was suggested in earlier iterations of the tender.

The new tender will also be an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract instead of a public-private partnership that the government was earlier considering.

Only two firms — L& T and Shapoorji Pallonji —  had submitted bids for the New Delhi station redevelopment project last time, after many companies had raised concerns over the government's PPP contract for the project.

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

The new revamped New Delhi station is set to be spread across 1.5 crore sqm, with a pedestrian boulevard connecting the station to Connaught Place.

The project plans on earning back revenue through the commercial spaces that will be built on the premises.

The pre-bid meeting for the new tender has been set for July 20 and last date to submit bids for the tender has been set as September 29. Technical bids for the tender will then be opened on October 5, as per the tender document issued by RLDA.

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

The refurbished station will have a roof plaza which will have a shopping area, and a food court where people can rest and wait for their trains. The platforms will be used only when passengers alight or de-board trains.

The railway station is already connected to the Delhi Metro, with the New Delhi station opening at the Ajmeri Gate entrance. The metro station has a direct connection with the Airport Metro Line. The work will be done in phases, with parts of the station being closed off for four months at a time.