Surat

28 agencies and developers participated in pre-application conference in Surat held to discuss a project to make Surat railway station a world-class transportation hub. This was second step after inviting ‘Expressions of Interest’. Indian Railway Station Development Corporation(IRSDC) has completed feasibility report of soil testing stage earlier already. The present railway station of Surat was constructed 155 years ago in 1861.

According to IRSDC CEO Sanjivkumar Lohiya, Surat railway colony and Surat railway yard will be relocated to make a way for construction of multi model transport hub. While relocation site of railway colony is yet not decided, the Surat station yard will be shifted to Udhna railway station where modern railway yard will be developed.

The railway station revamping project may see lease of 45 or 90 years. As per the first option the works may continue for three years for construction of railway station and eight years for construction of commercial structure. In second option railway station construction may take three eyars while commercial construction may take fifteen years period.

IRSDC and Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation(GSRTC) official jointly visited the land available from Municipal Corporation, GSRTC and railways and concluded that there was sufficient land available for railway station reconstruction project.

According to Lohia, 100% foreign direct investment has been permitted for the project and therefore GSRTC or railways don’t need to invest in working capital. The share of three agencies in profit/loss will be decided before Memorandum of Undesranding(MoU) is signed between GSRTC, IRSDC and Surat Municipal Corporation(SMC) for joint venture. IRSDC intends to complete the procedure of request proposal to tendering in six months after which work order will be given and construction will be completed in three years.

Highlights

– Surat will be first railway station in the country that would be developed by central government, state government and a local urban body.

– The size of the project is estimated at Rs 3,200 crore of which Rs 600 crore will be spent on facility development by the developer in the first three years of its initiation. The commercial development would be to the tune of Rs 2,600 crore. The project would have five iconic 61-storey towers on 2.64 lakh square meter of land belonging to Indian Railways, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

-Redevelopment on the existing 1.66 lakh square meter of land of railway station would also take place along side as a part of the project in which 100 per cent FDI would be allowed. SMC will provide 4 Floor Space Index without charge to developer either on a 45 or 90-year lease for the land.

-In the redeveloped railway station, there would be seven platforms and it will be a multi-modal transportation hub development (MMTD).

– Of 28 companies that attended this meet organized by SMC, some were foreign companies.

– Larsen & Toubro, Arup, Raheja Builders, ILFS, Tata Realty, Shaporji Palonji, Hector Capital from Singapore, Jindal Steels and Schneider Electric are among those companies which have shown interest in the project.

– At least 12 companies had participated in the first conference in Mumbai on May 3.

– DeshGujarat