Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an infrastructure and engineering company, has emerged as the lowest bidder for the New Delhi Railway Station redevelopment project. Their bid of over Rs 8,000 crore exceeds the railways' estimated project cost of Rs 5,000 crore. L&T is likely to secure the contract, as they are one of only two players who submitted bids for the fully government-financed project, the other being Sapoorji Pallonji. This project has been attempted three times in the past but has never been successfully bid out. It is the first time private players have submitted their bids, and the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has opened the tenders. The authority is hopeful of a decision soon on how to proceed with the project, given that the price quoted by the lowest bidder is much higher than the estimated cost. The railways had aimed to bid out the project in April to commence work in the next few months. The redevelopment of NDRS, which sees 4.5 lakh passengers daily, will take at least two years. The renovated station will have two unique twin domes with four floors of "roof plazas," providing additional space of about 15 acres. The roof plaza will be 10 meters above the track, and there will be complete segregation of arrival and departure to avoid crowding. An elevated road network will encircle the two domes, and passengers will wait in the roof plaza area and only come to the platform to board a train. After getting off, they will exit the station via the roof plaza.
Furthermore, Larsen & Toubro has won the bid for the Kona Expressway project, a 7.2-km long six-lane elevated superhighway to ease traffic on one of the three key highways entering Kolkata. The project, estimated to cost Rs 720 crore, is expected to be completed within 2026. The six-lane elevated viaduct will be constructed on a single row of piers located over major congestion points like Santragachhi bus terminus, Santragachhi railway station, Shibpur, Canal Side Road, and Carrie Road junction. NHAI will also construct a four-lane surface road, making the highway a 10-lane corridor. The Kona Expressway sees over 1 lakh vehicles each day, passing through areas like Carry Road, Belepole, Howrah Maidan, Santragachi, Jagacha, Gorpha, and Belepole. It also passes along two major inter-city railway junctions, namely, Santragachi Junction railway station in Santragachi and Shalimar railway station near Vidyasagar Setu toll centre. Santragachi, which has a railway station and a bus terminal, was a major choke point in this route.
