Ernakulam, Jan 27 (IANS): The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids for the redevelopment of Ernakulam Junction railway station in Kerala on a PPP model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the central government, officials said on Wednesday.

According to RLDA, it conducted the online pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of Ernakulam Railway Station in which calls for Request for Qualification (RFQ) took place and over 15 participants including Kalpataru Group, Anchorage Infrastructure, I Squared Capital, Adani Group, GMR Group, Omaxe Group and many more attended.

All the queries and doubts were addressed on the spot through video conferencing and intending bidders were invited to mail in their queries for detailed responses. The last date of submission of the bid was said to be February 22, 2021.

RLDA's vice chairman Ved Prakash Dudeja said, "Bolstered by rapid infrastructural developments, growth of the IT/ITes sector and proliferation of retail spaces, Kochi is among the fastest-growing cities in India."

He said that the Ernakulam railway station is strategically located near the bus stand and well-connected through public transportation with Kochi.

"Ernakulam South Metro Station has also come up near the Railway Station. The redevelopment of the station will give a fillip to real estate and retail spaces in the vicinity and spur the regional transformation," Dudeja added.

The Ernakulam station is planned to be developed on a design, build, finance, operate, transfer (DBFOT) model, and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 229 crore and is scheduled for completion in three years.