AHMEDABAD: Here is an opportunity for budding planners in architectural schools from the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC). Its CEO, S K Lohia, who was at Cept university to deliver a lecture on station redevelopment and Metro rail, announced a competition for colleges and universities to design stations like Gwalior, Baiyappanahalli, Gandhinagar (Jaipur), Amritsar and Nagpur. "While one competition will be held for educational institutions, the other will be for private firms. The best out of these will be chosen. In fact we are looking for good concepts," says Lohia.

Lohia also said that work on the ambitious Gandhinagar railway station — the only station to boast of a more than 300 room 5-star hotel in the country — is under way.

"The Rs 245 crore Gandhinagar project could not invite global firms because of the project size. The state government is investing 74% in its construction while 26% will be borne by IRSDC," said Lohia. "Construction is going on at the site," he said.

In case of Surat, Lohia said that Request for Quotations (RFQ) were invited on March 3 and nine firms have approached IRSDC. "The next stage will be on April 15, when we will be declaring the RFP for the DPR preparation and set the ball rolling," Lohia said.