PPP at the Centre

Civil Aviation | Highways | Ports | Railways

Railways

Areas Identified for PPP

World Class Railway Stations
22 stations have been identified at the first stage. These are: CST Mumbai (Carnac Bunder), Pune, Howrah (Kolkata), Lucknow, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Bijwasan at Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Secunderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Mathura Bangalore, Jaipur, Gaya, Agra and Bhopal. The process for the first project at New Delhi Station has been initiated. Architect and Technical Consultant has been appointed. Development of other stations and green field passenger terminals has been planned to be taken up in a phased manner.

The areas around the stations and the air space above platform could be commercially developed to pay for the project. The concessionaire would be expected to construct and maintain the operational and passenger areas free of cost, share the revenue earned from the real-estate. Cost of development (mandatory capital expenditure at stations) will be known after the Architect and Technical Consultants submit their report for each station.

Commercial Utilization of surplus land
The availability of vacant land is around 43000 hectares. Of this, a large part is alongside the track in longitudinal strips, around railway stations and in railway colonies. An authority, namely, Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has been set up under the Railway (Amendment) Act 2005 to pursue this objective. So far 92 sites of vacant land identified for commercial utilization have been entrusted to RLDA for commercial development. RLDA is in the process of getting feasibility studies carried out through consultants.

Setting up of JVs for manufacturing of locomotives/coaches
Ministry of Railways is exploring the feasibility of joint venture route in setting up the following factories:

1. Diesel Loco Factory at Marowhra, Bihar

2. Electric Loco Factory at Madhepura, Bihar.

3. Coach Factory at Rae-Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

As per Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)’s approval, which also directed that feasibility of JV route be explored, the cost of projects and the capacity to be created are as under:

*These are estimated costs as per government estimate and may change in case of execution through PPP.

Notice for Request for Qualification (RFQ) for selection of a private sector partners who would bring 76% of the equity for setting up of the diesel loco factory, Marowhra has been issued on 02.08.2007. Final bids are to be received by 14.12.2007. RFQ documents for the other two factories are currently being prepared by the consultant.

Construction of DFC partly with PPP
The project entails construction of 2700 route kms (equivalent to around 5000 track kms ) at an approximate cost of Rs.28,000 crores (US$ 6 billion) and is being implemented by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways. Execution would be by a mix of Engineering Procurement and Construction(EPC) and PPP methods. The exact extent and the type of PPP to be used would be decided after the report of consultant (being selected for the purpose) is received. Other opportunities for PPP would include commercial utilization of land, construction of freight terminals, multimodal logistics parks and ICDs.

Catering Services, Budget Hotels and Food Plazas
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been mandated to develop catering services, budget hotels and food plazas at major stations through involvement of private entrepreneurs.

IRCTC has commissioned Food Plazas ( 43 as on 31-04-2007) in Railway premises with private participation with license period of nine years and provision of extension of three years. It is in the process of inviting tenders for another 114 Food Plazas/Fast Food Units.

New services for the luxury tourism segment on the pattern of ‘Palace on Wheel’ in partnership with other interested State Governments/hospitality industry are also being considered by IRCTC. It is also entrusted with setting up of 100 budget hotels over the Indian Railway’s network through Public Private Partnership. Of this, tenders for 20 sites have been finalized and awarded to successful bidders and those for 9 sites have been floated on 08.02.2007.

Wagon Investment Scheme
Wagon Investment Scheme had been introduced to cater to increasing demand for wagons. The features of scheme are as follows:

• Supply of guaranteed number of rakes per month for a specified period.

• Rebate in freight for specified periods.

• Supply of bonus rakes without concession or penalty.

• Free maintenance of wagons by Railways.

Under this Scheme, approvals for procurement of 135 rakes entailing an investment of Rs.1500 crore by the investors have been issued (till July, 2007). 21 rakes have already been inducted and the rest are in the pipeline.

Other areas identified include

1. Super-specialty Hospital: Establishment of Super-specialty medical services in Nephrology and Cardiology at Central Hospital, East Central, Patna through PPP is being explored. A consultant is being appointed for Development Strategy Advice and Bid Process Management for the selection of a developer.

2. Agri-retail Chain: The project aims at bringing benefits of retail revolution to the farming community by leveraging land and space available at countryside stations on Indian Railways to provide retail outlets and supply chains. An Expression of Interest to elicit requisite information to design a competitive bidding framework is being invited.

3. Multimodal Logistics Parks: The objective of the project is to provide infrastructure and services such as freight terminals along with handling and inter-modal transfer, storage and warehousing and bouquet of other related value added services as part of an integrated logistics chain to enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of rail based transport. RITES are being engaged to conduct feasibility studies at a number of identified sites for setting up of multimodal logistics parks through PPP.