Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu formally launched the Station Re-development Project (SRP) for 23 railway stations, to be taken up in the first phase, from New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
Visakhapatnam Railway Station (East Coast Railway) and Vijayawada Railway Station (South Central Railway) are the only stations in Andhra Pradesh selected for redevelopment in the first phase.
Addressing the stakeholders through video conference, the Railway Minister said the multi-pronged strategy was to provide amenities to passengers through private participation. The vacant railway land available around the stations would be leased to successful bidders for a 45-year lease to exploit them commercially.
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The surplus generated from the commercial potential would be used to fund modernisation of railway stations, without any additional funding from the railways.
The Railway Minister said joint ventures could also be formed with various State governments for railway infrastructure development. He said the bidding for the SRP projects would be transparent and all details would be available on the railway website.
Presiding over the stakeholders meet here, Divisional Railway Manager Chandralekha Mukherjee said two parcels of encroachment-free land – one 15,400 sq. m. and the other 3,600 sq.m - was available on the Gnanapuram-side of Visakhapatnam Railway Station. The successful bidder would have to pay a nominal lease rent to the railways.
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GVMC Commissioner M. Harinarayanan said land parcels available to prospective bidders were on the important Pendurthy Transit Corridor of Bus Rapid Transit System.
The tenders for SRP are open from Wednesday (Feb 8). The last date for filing of tenders is May 24. Invitation and other documents can be downloaded from the website http://www.eastcoastrail. indianrailways.gov.in .