Bidding for redevelopment of Surat rly station extended
New Delhi: The rail ministry has extended the deadline for bidding for redevelopment of Surat city railway station by December 7, 2018. "The bid opening date has now been extended to December 7, 2018, based on the request of bidders," a ministry statement said Friday.
The ministry has been working to develop its major stations as world-class Multi Model Transport Hubs. The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) has been entrusted the work of redevelopment of Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Habibganj (Bhopal), and Surat railway stations.
For the Surat railway station, all the three levels of government, rail ministry, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and Surat Municipal Corporation have come together to pool their lands and also form an SPV named SITCO.
"This project once completed, will transform the face of Surat," the government claimed.
The rail ministry further added that though Request for Qualification cum Request for Proposal (RFQ cum RFP) for the appointment of Developer to take up the development of Multi-Modal Transportation Hub (MMTH) along with Commercial Development on DBFOT-PPP mode was invited on April 17 of this year, new Developers can also participate.
Apart from that, the Built-up Area (BUA) - Proposed Commercial Development BUA has been increased from 5.07 lakh sq.m. to 8.40 lakh sq.m. The BUA definition modified to exclude basement(s) or any upper floor(s) for satisfying the parking or fire requirements as per local by-laws. Reduced the Estimated Cost of the Mandatory project from INR 1,008 Cr. to INR 895 Cr.
Increased Commercial Retail Area on Ground Level from 3,54,864 sq.m. to 7,84,596 sq.m, considering the local demand at Surat. Further, increased Commercial Development on West Side along Ring Road by shifting the proposed Railway Quarters to Udhna. Flexibility has been given to the developer to modify the Commercial Development Plan without disturbing the area requirements and intent of the Mandatory Project. Master Plan has been revised to provide a more commercial area on the ground. Adding further IRSDC being declared the nodal agency by Union Cabinet for Railway Station Redevelopment and given full powers for plan approvals over railway land and no change in land use required, the ministry said.
Earlier on August 17, 2016, a MoU was signed between the Railways, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC). Even, the maximum tenure of Sub-License at a time has been increased from 3 years to 9 years.
