RLDA organises virtual road-shows on the redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station

New Delhi (India), January 22 : The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Railways, conducted online road-shows on the redevelopment of the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) - the first project to be undertaken on the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) concept in Delhi-NCR.
The objective of the initiative is to engage with relevant stakeholders such as leading international real estate developers, infrastructure players and financial institutions from advanced geographies such as Europe, Australia and South Asia.
The event witnessed the participation of representatives from renowned companies such as Macquarie Group, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Brookfield, I Squared Capital, Mahindra Group, Mecef International, Infrastructure Asia, and many others. Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice Chairman, RLDA welcomed all participants and discussed the constitution and role entrusted to RLDA by the Government of India (GOI). Dudeja also briefly introduced the project to the respective participants.
"The redevelopment of the New Delhi Railway Station is our flagship project that will transform Delhi-NCR. The project has attracted interest from various stakeholders. As a responsible organisation, our foremost priority is to engage with them, keep them apprised of various developments and incorporate their views and suggestions into the project," said Dudeja.
The road-show emphasised the unique value propositions and investors were assured of RLDA's endeavour to create a win-win structure for a smooth implementation of the project. A detailed presentation covering the project concept was showcased, including the proposed transaction structure. The highlight of the road-show was a video walkthrough of the proposed concept. The participants were requested to put forward their views and suggestions on the project concept and the transaction structure. RLDA also conveyed that similar online sessions shall be planned in near future to further discuss and refine the project with intending players.
The project is currently at Request for Qualification (RFQ) stage with the last date of submission of applications as of February 2. The roadshow was preceded by a pre-bid conference held in September 2020 in which prominent players such as Adani Group, GMR, JKB Infra, Arabian Construction Company, SNCF and Anchorage participated and have shown their interests in undertaking the prestigious redevelopment project. The project entails a capital expenditure of approximately USD 680 million over a period of four years and offers multiple revenue streams to the developer, including revenue from real estate rights for a period of 60 years.
While RLDA is the approving authority for the master plan, an apex committee under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has been constituted to ensure coordination amongst the various civic agencies involved and expedite the approvals and clearances.
The station has a master plan area of 120 hectares, out of which 88 hectares are being planned in Phase-1 of the project. The project involves the development of around 12 lakh square metres of the built-up area as a higher (Floor Space Index) FSI is permitted under the TOD Policy. The project will be undertaken on the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model, and would involve redevelopment and management of the Station for a 60 year-concession period.
The station is strategically located in the heart of Delhi and is in close proximity to Connaught Place, Delhi's prime commercial hub. It will be redeveloped into a world-class station in line with global standards with dome-shaped terminal buildings with two arrivals and two departures at the concourse level, two Multi-Modal Transport Hubs (MMTH) on its every side, 40-floor high-rise twin towers and a pedestrian boulevard with high-street shopping are among the salient features of the proposed development. Pedestrian movement, cycle tracks, green tracks and non-motorized vehicles have been integrated into the proposed development plan.
The station will be developed to ensure multi-modal transport integration and development. It is connected to the IGI Airport through the Airport Express Line Metro and with Delhi NCR via the Yellow Line of Delhi Metro. Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus stops lie on both sides of the Station.
RLDA is currently working on 62 stations in a phased manner while its subsidiary, Indian Railways Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) has taken up another 61 stations. In the first phase, RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, Puducherry for redevelopment. The railway stations across India will be redeveloped on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the GOI earlier.
RLDA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Railways, for the development of a vacant Railway land.
Currently, the Indian Railway has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India. RLDA has over 84 commercial (greenfield) sites across India for leasing, and the eligible developers for each will be selected through an open and transparent bid process. RLDA is currently also handling 84 railway colonies redevelopment projects and has recently leased out a railway colony in Guwahati for redevelopment.