Mumbai: GMR, Adani Among Nine Players Shortlisted For Redevelopment Of CSMT Station

Nine major companies including GMR, Godrej Properties, Oberoi Realty and Adani Railway Transport have been shortlisted for redevelopment of the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway Station (CSMT) in Mumbai.

The request for qualification (RFQ) applications for the project opened on January 15 and the nine firms have been shortlisted for the next request for proposal (RFP) stage, which is expected to open soon.

Earlier, nine major players had qualified to participate in the financial bid for redeveloping New Delhi railway station.

Some of the shortlisted players like GMR and Adani are bidding for both New Delhi and CSMT stations. While CSMT is being developed by Indian Railways Station Redevelopment Corporation (IRSDC), New Delhi station is being assigned to RLDA.

The IRSDC had invited an RFQ in August 2020 after ‘in-principle’ approval of the Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) to redevelop CSMT Railway station and transform it into an iconic city centre.

On January 15, 2021, IRSDC opened the RFQ applications of CSMT railway station and received an overwhelming response from 10 developers despite the current Covid-19 scenario.

IRSDC evaluated and shortlisted the applications received, and out of the 10 applications, nine were ‘qualified’ for the next stage.

Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings, ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Moribus Holdings, and BIF IV Infrastructure Holding DIFC are other shortlisted bidders.

The applications were evaluated in accordance with financial capacity, which required a minimum company net worth of Rs 821 crore at the close of the preceding financial year or, a minimum ACI of Rs 821 crore at the close of the preceding financial year.

“Nine firms have qualified at the RFQ stage for the redevelopment of CSMT station. As a next step, IRSDC will float a Request for Proposal (RFP) soon to the qualified bidders. CSMT railway station redevelopment is one of our most ambitious projects and we at IRSDC are committed to transform the CSMT railway station into a state-of-the-art transport hub,” said IRSDC Managing Director and CEO SK Lohia.

Up to 2.54 lakh sqm of Built up Area is permitted for commercial development by the developer. The selected bidder, at the request for proposal stage, will take up the redevelopment of the railway station and commercial development of the surrounding railway land on leasehold basis up to 60 years for commercial development and up to 99 years for residential development on selected plots, along with operation and maintenance of the station for 60 years on concession basis.

Concessionnaires will also levy a user charge along the lines of user development fee at airports and the levy amount will be decided shortly.
The redevelopment cost of the station including the cost of financing and contingency is Rs 1,642 crore. The investment opportunity for redevelopment is on DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) basis.

Redevelopment of stations is a priority of the government that will transform the rail premise into a mini smart city with mixed-use development where one can live, work, play, and ride, thus attracting huge investment and business opportunities.

These redeveloped stations will provide state-of-the-art amenities to the passengers and enhance their travel experience.

As part of this agenda, work on the redevelopment of 123 stations is in progress. Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations, and RLDA is working on 60 stations.

As per current estimates, the total investment needed for the redevelopment of the 123 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore.