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UPSRTC to invite fresh bids with more attractive terms for 24 high-tech bus stations in UP
The decision comes after developers gave a cold shoulder to the bids that the corporation has invited at least four times since 2018.
The UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) will soon invite bids yet again—this time with relaxed and more attractive terms and conditions to select suitable private companies. The corporation has plans to develop 24 modern bus stations-cum commercial complexes in public private partnership (PPP) mode on the pattern of the one inaugurated in Lucknow (Alambagh) in June 2018.
The decision comes after developers gave a cold shoulder to the bids that the corporation has invited at least four times since 2018.
People aware of the development said that chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra on Monday had a discussion with the UPSRTC officials in this regard before the final proposal went to the Cabinet after Diwali.
According to UPSRTC managing director Sanjay Kumar the issue of inviting fresh bids is being looked into by the committee of secretaries with the chief secretary being its chairman.
“We will soon float the request for proposal (RFP) to invite private developers to develop 24 bus stations in different cities in the state after the committee of secretaries approves the same after which the proposal will be sent to the Cabinet very soon,” he said.
The inter-state air-conditioned Alambagh bus terminal conceptualized and built by the then Akhilesh Yadav government was the state’s first bus station developed in PPP mode. The Samajwadi Party (SP) workers ‘inaugurated’ the state-of-the-art bus station that was then touted as the country’s best bus terminal, in June 2018 a day before chief minister Yogi Adityanath was scheduled to make formal inauguration.
Developed and designed by Shalimar Malls Pvt Ltd, a private company, at a cost of over ₹200 crore, the Alambagh bus station is spread over 26,500 sqmt with all passenger amenities.
The UPSRTC has been trying to develop more bus stations on different locations in the state since then but in vain as developers are not showing interest in the project.
Earlier, the plan was to develop 20 such bus stations but now the number has gone up to 24. They include two more in Lucknow (Gomti Nagar and Charbagh), one each in Kanpur, Bareilly and Aligarh, two each in Allahabad, Meerut and Ghaziabad and three in Agra.
Kumar said based on the feedback of developers, terms and conditions of the bids were being relaxed to attract more and serious bidders when the fresh bids were invited for the project with modified terms.
According a senior UPSRTC official who did not wish to be identified, the corporation may, among other things, increase the lease period of such bus stations and allow more commercial activities there to make the project more viable.
