Re-development of Nellore and Tirupati railway stations inches closer to reality

Andhra Pradesh: Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has successfully conducted online pre-bid meetings for the redevelopment of railway stations in Nellore and Tirupati located in Andhra Pradesh. These redevelopment projects are in line with Smart Cities Mission and aim at making Tirupati and Nellore multi-modal transit hubs endowed with state-of-the-art amenities, including differently- abled-friendly access ramps and elevators and green building features such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy generation. The total cost of the projects is estimated to be INR 130 crore and INR 510 crore for Nellore and Tirupati respectively which include INR 53 Cr & INR 230 Cr as cost of station development portion. The tender is scheduled to be opened by mid-June 2020.

The pre-bid meetings for Nellore and Tirupati witnessed participation from 25-30 prominent firms such as GMR, Oberoi, Ambience, Adani Group, Godrej Properties, Reliance Infra, Sobha, Brigade, Embassy Group among others.

This comes after RLDA floated an RFP (Request for Proposal) inviting bids for the selection of a suitable public or private entity for re-development of Nellore and Tirupati railway stations.

Both stations will be redeveloped on a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) mode on Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Transfer (DBFOT) model. They will have operational areas like administrative areas, miscellaneous technical areas, security, and station operation staff areas besides world-class amenities for passengers such as shopping, hospitality, food court, cloakroom, dormitories, and executive lounges. The Tirupati railway station is targeted to be redeveloped in 3 years.

"Amidst the lockdown induced by COVID-19, we conducted online pre-bid meetings for both Nellore and Tirupati successfully. This is in line with our commitment to ensure seamless operations during this unprecedented time. We have also started opening online tenders also," said Shri Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice- Chairman, Railway Land Development Authority.

"Both cities possess a rich cultural heritage and are home to various educational institutions. The proposed redevelopment of their stations will facilitate commercial development, generate employment opportunities, and boost the tourism potential of both regions," he added.

The agencies will be evaluated through a two-stage process. The winner will be required to upgrade and redevelop stations in line with recommendations of various stakeholders as well as operate and maintain them. It will be also responsible for executing a comprehensive mobility plan within project land after field study to ensure free and un-obstructive movements of various modes of transport (i.e., railway, city bus, auto, taxi, non-motorized vehicles.) and pedestrians.

The Nellore project comprises 3 vacant Railway land parcels of total area 4.16 acre that will be used for commercial development as well as generating revenues by the developer. In case of Tirupati, the 3-acre vacant Railway land parcel which forms a part of this project will be used for the said purpose.

The concession period for both projects under Concession Agreement is 60 years which implies that Concessionaire must operate and maintain the Railway station buildings and estate for 60 years.

Located on the banks Penna River in Andhra Pradesh, Nellore is well-connected with the southern and eastern parts of India through Chennai- Howrah Railway line. Nellore Railway station is currently a non-suburban grade 3 (A-Category) station located on the busiest railway trunk route of Vijayawada and Chennai. National Highway (NH-16) which passes through Nellore, is part of the Golden Quadrilateral project which will make it a major logistics and transportation hub in South India.