Pune's Shivajinagar ST bus station to be rebuilt at Rs 825 crore under PPP model

The long wait for the redevelopment of Pune's Shivajinagar bus station is moving towards an end. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) are entering into an agreement to take the project forward together. The transport hub is estimated to cost Rs 825 crore and to serve more than one lakh passengers every day.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Pratap Sarnaik, the state's Transport Minister and MSRTC chairman, were present.

The project will be built on the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Maha-Metro will be responsible for implementation, while private developers will be involved in construction and commercial development. The state Cabinet has already approved the policy of adopting the PPP model. Once complete, it is expected to rank among the largest and most modern ST bus terminals in Maharashtra.

The new complex will have several floors, with passenger services, bus operations and commercial space in a single building. Passenger facilities will be on the ground floor, buses will be parked on the first floor, and the upper floors are earmarked for commercial development.

The tender process is expected to begin next month. Officials have indicated that construction will take about three to four years, though the final timeline will depend on implementation of the project and the development schedule.

The redevelopment is expected to ease problems that passengers have faced for years. In December 2019, the original Shivajinagar ST bus station was shifted to Wakdewadi because work on an underground station of the Pune Metro was to take place there. Because of this temporary arrangement, about 1.5 km from the original terminal, passengers have to travel farther to catch an ST service. Under the proposed redevelopment, the bus station will return to its old location and be connected to the metro network.

Maha-Metro is also involved in the operation and maintenance of the Nagpur and Pune metro projects, the Thane Integral Ring Metro project and Navi Mumbai Metro Line 1. It will oversee implementation of the redevelopment plan.