RLDA invites RFQ for redevelopment of Lucknow’s Char Bagh railway station

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has floated a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the redevelopment of the Lucknow’s Char Bagh railway station.
The project will require investment of Rs 556 crore and will include development of commercial land parcel near the station.

Lucknow railway station redevelopment is a railway upgradation project including complete integrated development and redevelopment of both LKO (NR) and LJN (NER) stations along with 12.23 acre commercial land parcel.

The objective of the redevelopment is to equip it with state-of-the-art amenities like segregation of arrival and departure, air-concourse, foot-over bridges, lifts and escalator, conducive facilities for the specially-abled passengers to ensure a hassle-free travel experience.

The station will be redeveloped on a Design-Build-Operate-Finance-Transfer (DBFOT) model in two phases at a total cost of Rs 556.8 crore.

The pre-bid meeting with the developers was held on April 9 and the deadline for the submission of Request for Qualification (RFQ) from intending bidders is June 24, 2021.

The cost of Phase 1 redevelopment is estimated at Rs 442.5 crore over three years, whereas Phase 2 is expected to cost Rs 114.3 crores over two years.

“Lucknow is among the fastest-growing cities in North India. The city is home to several manufacturing and processing units and possesses a robust administrative, banking, and financial network of institutions. The redevelopment of the Lucknow Railway Station will augment the tourism potential and lead to employment generation. It will also boost real estate in the vicinity and have a formidable socio-economic impact on the region,” said Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice Chairman, RLDA.

The design has to incorporate the green building concept and shall adhere to the life-cycle cost minimization approach, which will be the hallmarks of the newly-redeveloped station. At the same time the heritage look of the existing grand station building will be retained.

The bid intends to pre-qualify and short-list suitable applicants who will be eligible for participation in the bid stage.

The concessionaire will be mandated to undertake upgradation and redevelopment of the Lucknow railway station, including the station component and the station estate component, followed by its operation and maintenance.

The selected developer will be responsible for arranging and paying for all the utilities and will also be responsible for payment of taxes, scrutiny fee, infrastructure charges and other cess and taxes to the local body as per the prevailing norms.

The Lucknow NR (LKO) and Lucknow Junction (LJN) Railway Stations are among the main railway stations of Lucknow for broad gauge trains and are situated in the south of the city.

Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. The proposed Industrial corridor between Lucknow and Kanpur on the line of Greater Noida with four IT SEZs along this corridor will propel economic growth in the region.

Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Railways for the development of Railway land. It has four key mandates as a part of its development plan, namely leasing of commercial sites, colony redevelopment, station redevelopment and multi-functional complexes.

RLDA is currently working on 60 stations in a phased manner while its subsidiary, IRSDC has taken up another 63 stations. In the first phase, RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, Cuttack and Puducherry for redevelopment. The railway stations across India will be redeveloped on a PPP Model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the Government of India.