VIJAYAWADA: Four railway stations in the State, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal and Kurnool are set to get a major facelift through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode at an estimated cost of `20 crore, South Central Railway (SCR) general manager Vinod Kumar Yadav said. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2019.
Addressing mediapersons on Tuesday, Yadav said that station redevelopment project works at an estimated cost of `400 crore under PPP mode were already commissioned at Tirupati Railway Station.
Under the project, world class passenger amenities would be developed in Tirupati railway station.
The works would also include an eight-storied budget hotel, in which the first floor would be used for operational purposes and the rest for housing running rooms, retiring rooms, passenger amenities, hotels among others, he added.
Yadav said that the Centre has proposed to develop Secunderabad and Vijayawada under the division with world class facilities.
He asserted there have been issues with the construction companies as the redevelopment policy assured the private party in getting the government land lease for a period of 40 years.
However, most of the bidders raised concern regarding it and sought that the lease period be extended up to 99 years, he said.
“A proposal was submitted to the Union railway ministry and it is reworking the policy to extend the lease period up to 99 years,” Yadav said.
Officials expect at least `194 crore to be spent on redevelopment of Vijayawada railway station via the Swiss challenge method, he added.
Giving a detailed status of various infrastructure projects, he said that Guntur-Guntakal railway line electrification works were nearing completion and doubling works were in progress.
Tripling of Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam works were in progress and a stretch of 42 km new line section would be commissioned soon on the Nadikudi-Srikalahasti new line project after Obulavaripalli-Krishnapatnam new line was completed.
This year, the division has achieved a record of 608 km of electrification in the previous financial year and was planning to electrify 600 km electrification in the current fiscal year, he said, adding in the next two years, the entire division would be electrified.