The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) has extended the deadline for bidding the 25 lakh sq ft commercial area at Chandigarh railway station till 24 August 2020.

The earlier bidding deadline was scheduled for 24 June 2020. The prospective bidders had requested the corporation for more time to let the COVID-19 situation improve.

The request for proposal (RfP) for mixed-use development of the land parcel on the basis of leasehold rights was invited on 3 January 2020. The first due date for bidding was 27 May 2020.

IRSDC plans to put in Rs 136 crore in the project to make the station world-class with the addition of an international airport by 2021. But the revamping has not started yet and the project winner is inactive.

On 26 June 2020, IRSDC opened the bids for four stations (Gwalior, Nagpur, Amritsar, Sabarmati) and soon the work will commence on these sites.

The four projects will be the Railways' first such by in-principle approval of the Centre's Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC).

These are also first to have provision for pre-determined user charges on passengers and visitors as a revenue stream for the concessionaire of the redeveloped stations.