Adani Railways Transport, GMR Enterprises, Godrej Properties and Oberoi Realty are some players that have evinced interest in redeveloping the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station.
ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings, Brookfield Infrastructure Fund IV, Moribus Holdings and Keystone Realtors have also shown interest in the project.
In all, 10 applications have been received by the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) for redeveloping the CSMT into a ‘City Centre Rail Mall’.
“This has seen the best participation in recent times in terms of number of applications, when compared to projects like Delhi Airport, Mumbai Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport, Goa Mopa Airport, Jewar Airport and other airports at Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram or railway stations,” an IRSDC statement said.
The project will include segregation of arrival and departure, divyang-friendly station, better level of services for passengers and energy efficient building. It will also restore the heritage site, according to its 1930 levels.
Upon redevelopment, it will provide multiple access points to passengers for easy commute and also a direct linkage with suburban railway, harbour line, Metro rail and commercial development. “The CSMT railway station will function like a City Centre Rail Mall where, in addition to a passenger’s transportation needs, his daily needs will also be fulfilled, like retail, food and beverage. The aim is to cater to a passenger’s needs in the railway station itself, thus avoiding unnecessary travel within the city,” the statement added.
IRSDC had invited request for qualification (RFQ) for redevelopment of the station through the public-private partnership (PPP) route on August 20, 2020. This had come after an in-principle approval of the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC). The committee had representatives from the ministry of finance, ministry of law, NITI Aayog and the ministry of railways, among others. And, approval was in accordance with the guidelines for PPP projects by the Centre, the IRSDC added.
“For providing better passenger services and amenities, railway stations will be on licence with the concessionaire for 60 years,” IRSDC said.
The bidders can tap into revenue streams such as pre-determined charges (as notified by the ministry of railways) from railway station users as in practice at airports. There are also long-term lease-rights for real estate. “Up to 99 years for residential or mix-use format and 60 years for non-residential. About 254,000 square metres of built-up area (tentative) has been allowed for commercial development,” IRSDC said.
The redevelopment cost of the station (mandatory cost), including cost of financing and contingency, among others, is Rs 1,642 crore). The investment opportunity for redevelopment is on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT)-basis, IRSDC added.
The initial planning was done by AREP, a French consultant, and the technical consultant for planning the project is AECOM. The financial and transaction consultant is Knight Frank. Besides CSMT, work on redevelopment of 123 railway stations across the country is in progress.