New Delhi, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the initial bid for the redevelopment of Vijayawada Railway Station under the Public-Private Partnership model received no response and has therefore been re-invited.
Vaishnaw was responding to questions raised by BJP MP Dilip Ray regarding asset monetisation of railway stations across the country.
Ray also asked whether the proposal had been sent to the Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) and, if so, how many stations had been identified under the PPP model and what revenue was expected to be generated through the monetisation of railway station assets in Odisha.
The Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) is a government body that evaluates and grants approval to major PPP projects before they are put out for bidding.
In a written reply, Vaishnaw said the Ministry of Railways has explored various models for the development and modernisation of railway stations, including the PPP model.
He cited Rani Kamalapati station in Madhya Pradesh as an example of a station that has been successfully developed and commissioned under the PPP model.
"Presently, 15 nos. of stations have been identified for development on PPP model. Out of these 15 stations, the proposal for re-development of Vijayawada Railway Station of South Coast Railway in Andhra Pradesh in PPP mode was sent to Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC)," Vaishnaw stated.
"The approval of the same has been received from PPPAC. The bid for re-development of Vijayawada Railway Station under PPP was invited but no offer was received, therefore the tender has been re-invited," he added.
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According to the Railway minister, the remaining 14 stations (Coimbatore Junction, Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru, Chennai Central, Andheri, Avadi, Tambram, Bhopal, Vadodara, Kalyan, Dadar, Anand Vihar, Delhi Junction, Hazrat Nizammudin and Pune) are at various stages of master planning and financial modelling.
