Indian Railways has signed the contract for the redevelopment of Habibganj station near Bhopal (state of Madhya Pradesh) under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The team in charge of the concession will be a consortium formed by Bansal Construction Works and Prakash Asphalting &Toll Highways. The special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed to implement the project is called Bansal Pathways Habibagnj Private Ltd.

The developer will be responsible for the design, building, financing, operation and maintenance (DBFOM) of the Habibganj station redevelopment project, which will include the implementation of new modern amenities such as escalators, lifts, parking lot, landscaping, concourse, walkway, parcel corridor and subways. 

The project works will also contemplate the construction of food plaza, medical clinics, office complex, salon and other facilities to use the area to generate revenue for railways.

The total project investment is expected to stand at INR4.5 billion (US$67 million).

According to sources, IRSDC is planning to develop other stations namely Chandigarh, Surat, Shivaji Nagar, Brijwasan, Anand Vihar, Mohali and Gandhinagar.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said:

“We are negotiating with World Bank for getting USD 500 million for station development project. We can also join hands with counties like Germany, the UK and France which have expertise in redevelopment to modernise a few stations here. I am also writing to all chief ministers to be part of the redevelopment project in their respective States.”