Tenders invited for construction of South Coast Railway Zone office in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam, Nov 24 : The work on South Coast Railway Zone at Visakhapatnam is expected to begin soon as the East Coast Railway has called for tenders for the construction of the General Manager's office complex.
The proposed complex will feature nine floors, including two basement levels, a ground floor, and associated facilities. The last date for filing tenders is December 12. The project is estimated to cost Rs 149.16 crore.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X the notice inviting tender for office construction to set up the South Coast Railway Zone at Visakhapatnam.
The Andhra Pradesh government has already allotted 53 acres of land for the construction of the railway zone's office.
Last month, Anakapalle MP C.M. Ramesh said that the foundation for South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone will be laid soon.
Ramesh was recently appointed chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways.
He said the state government has already handed over the land for construction of the SCoR Zonal headquarters, and the date of laying of foundation stone would be announced soon.
Railway users from the northern Andhra region have been awaiting for the new railway zone for more than a decade.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, included a provision for examining the feasibility of establishing a new railway zone.
It was in February 2019 that then Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a new railway zone would be established with its headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
An Officer on Special Duty (OSD) was appointed and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for establishment of SCoR was submitted in August 2019.
Though it was included in the 2020-21 Budget with an allocation of Rs 170 crore, no progress was made during the last five years.
The process for setting up the zonal headquarters gathered momentum after the Telugu Desam Party-led National Democratic Alliance came to power in the state in June this year.
With the Centre calling for tenders, the work to operationalise SCoR is likely to begin soon.