The Indian Express             18.09.2013

MMRDA invites bids for underground Metro corridor

Hoping to start construction by May next year, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has invited bids for pre-qualification for the construction of the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro, which will be Mumbai's first underground Metro corridor and one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the city.

Separately, the Union finance ministry's Department of Economic Affairs Tuesday formally signed a loan agreement for the Metro project with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Delhi for the disbursement of the first tranche of Rs 4,553 crore or 71,000 million Yen. The agreement was signed by Rajesh Khullar, joint secretary of the department of economic affairs and Shinya Ejima, the chief representative of JICA in India.

UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner at MMRDA, said, "The loan would be disbursed in three tranches. A formal agreement will be signed for every tranche before disbursement. We have called for requests for qualification for the civil works to construct the corridor as a cash contract."

PRK Murthy, chief of the transport division at MMRDA, said, "We will evaluate the pre-qualification bids by November 30 and call for request for proposals by the first week December. The shortlisted companies will be given 60 days to submit their tenders and work orders will be issued by March. The disbursement of JICA's loan will be as per construction schedule."

The Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro will be a 33.5-km corridor with 26 underground stations. The project cost is pegged at Rs 23,126 crore. JICA is providing a loan for 57.2 per cent of the project cost with a tenure of 30 years at an annual interest rate of 1.4 per cent.

The Central and state governments are contributing an equity of 10.4 per cent each and a subordinate debt of 4.4 per cent and 7 per cent of the project cost, respectively. The Mumbai International Airport Limited, which has agreed to construct three stations as stakeholder contribution, will account for 3.4 per cent of the project cost. Besides, the MMRDA is looking to raise 4.3 per cent by either property development, or levying an impact fee on the areas that will benefit from the project. The rest is expected to come from a Central government scheme meant to bolster exports as the Metro corridor will boost connectivity to SEEPZ, an exports promotion zone.

The MMRDA has invited the bids for the civil work in seven packages. As per the bid documents, the tunnels would be constructed using boring machines instead of the blasting or drilling method. This will limit the disturbance caused to the surrounding area.