Gandhinagar railway stn to be revamped, PM to launch project

The Gujarat government has decided to redevelop the Gandhinagar Railway Station at a cost of Rs 250 crore and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to perform its ground breaking ceremony on January 9, a top official said.
As part of the redevelopment, there is a plan to build a five-star hotel on top of the railway station to accommodate delegates coming here to attend the Vibrant Summits held every two years.
"The project will commence as soon as Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs ground breaking ceremony at the railway station on January 9, a day before the inauguration of 8th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Mahatma Mandir near the railway station," Gujarat Chief Secretary, J N Singh said in a press conference today.

State Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has already given his go-ahead for the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the station re-development project, he added.
"The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 250 crore. We want to complete the entire project, including the five-star hotel, before the next Vibrant Summit of 2019, so that delegates can be provided with world-class stay in Gandhinagar," said Singh.
The station is being developed through the SPV between Government of Gujarat and Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd (IRSDC). The proposed name of the SPV is Gandhinagar Railway & Development Corporation Ltd (GARUD), the official said.

"The project includes redevelopment of the railway station and construction of a 300-room five star hotel in the airspace above the railway track. The hotel will have three towers. Total height of the hotel will be around 65 meters, highest in state capital," Singh said.
Providing details about the financial components of the SPV, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Mines, P K Taneja told reporters that the state government will hold the majority share with 74 per cent, while Ministry of Railways will hold 26 per cent.
"Both, the Railway Ministry as well as Gujarat Government, will invest Rs 50 crore each, while we will take loan of Rs 120 crore to complete the project. Since the hotel will be just 10 kms away from Ahmedabad airport, we expect that it will get a very good response from business delegates and other tourists upon completion," Taneja said.