New Delhi, Aug 29 (UNI) Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), an organisation under the Ministry of Railways, has invited bids from private players to redevelop an area of five lakh square metres at the New Delhi station and another 2.6 lakh square metres surrounding it for commercial purposes.
The company acquiring lease under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the New Delhi station of Indian Railways will be allowed to develop the station on its own.
Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav told a press conference here on Saturday that Railways has prepared a possible model but the company acquiring the lease can change it. It will have the freedom to provide the space available for commercial purpose for retail business or for offices.
Mr Yadav said it is estimated to cost about Rs 4,925 crore for the development of the railway station and about Rs 1,300 crore for the development works nearby. A total of 3.3 million square feet of built-up area will be developed. The estimated cost of the entire project is Rs 6,250 crore.
Like the airports at the railway station, there will be separate areas for passengers coming and going. It will be connected to a four to six lane flyover from Connaught Place. It will also be directly connected to Karnail Singh Stadium. Measures will be taken to reduce the jam on Deshbandhu Gupta Marg.
The project was likely to be completed in around four years.
Mr Yadav said the New Delhi Railway Station will be developed as a multi-model railway hub. The metro station is already there from where the Airport Express line goes directly to the airport. A bus station will also be built here. There will be space to park 5,000 cars at the railway station.
The lease will be for 60 years and will go to the company that pays the highest annual fees to the Railways. It will have to bear the entire cost of the construction work.
Before Covid-19, an average of 400 trains ran daily from New Delhi railway station and carry 4.5 lakh passenger traffic.
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