35 Cos' evince interest in modernising New Delhi Rly Stn

New Delhi: Thirty-five companies, including Reliance Energy, GMR, GVK, DLF and Videocon Industries, on Friday expressed interest in modernising the New Delhi railway station during a meeting with railway officials.

Representatives of these Companies were invited for the meeting, ahead of a formal request for qualification (RFQ).

According to a railway ministry official, the aim of the meeting was basically to discuss the details of the project and also the qualification criteria for applying for the same.

The ministry has set a March 14 deadline for inviting RFQs. The official said the entire process of identifying the bidder would take around four to five months, while the actual work on the station’s facelift would start by early 2009.

The modernisation is expected to cost Rs 5,000 crore. The work includes complete renovation of New Delhi railway station area, which is spread over 86 acres.

Ministry officials say the project may take seven years to get completed. However, the ministry would like the developer to at least give a new facade to the station entrance ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The ministry is expecting a final report from the consultants for the project, Terry Farrell and Partners, a Hong Kong-based architectural firm by the end of this month.

The firm is preparing the basic design for the station, on which the winning bidder would have to work on.