BHOPAL (Metro Rail News): After the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (MPMRC) opened financial bids, KEC International – Sam India JV emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction work of Bhopal Metro‘s Subhash Nagar Depot (Package BH06).
This station will be developed on a 26.1-acre land parcel directly west of Subhash Nagar Station as part of Bhopal Metro’s Phase 1 project. It will act as a hub for two of the city’s metro lines: the 14.99-kilometre Purple Line (Karond Circle – AIIMS), which is now under construction, and the 12.88-kilometre Red Line (Bhadbhada Square – Ratnagiri Tiraha), which is still in the planning stages.
MPMRCL invited tenders for the depot’s construction in August 2021, with a three-year timeframe and a budget of Rs. 322.91 crore.
Package: BH-06
The work includes: Construction of Rolling Stock Depot cum Workshop at Subhash Nagar for Bhopal Metro Rail Project
In December 2021, technical bids were opened, revealing 13 bidders. However, bids from the following eight firms were rejected during the evaluation process because they were determined to be non-compliant with the tender terms.
- Altis Holding Corporation – Varindera Constructions (Altis-VCL) JV
- Bansal Construction Works Private Limited
- Bridge and Roof Company India Ltd.
- Cube Construction Engineering Ltd.
- Engineering Projects (India) Ltd.
- Amara Raja Infra Pvt Ltd
- Shalimar Corp Ltd.
- SMS Ltd.
| Company | Bid value (Crore) |
| Montecarlo – Kunal Structure (MCL-KSIPL JV) | 483.69 |
| KEC International – SAM India JV | 338.09 |
| IRCON International Ltd. | 351.55 |
| URC Construction Pvt. Ltd. | 351.55 |
| Suroj Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. | 374.82 |
Surprisingly, IRCON and URCC both offered the same amount (Rs. 351,55,78992.13). KEC-SAM JV’s bid of Rs. 338.09 crore was only 4.7 per cent more than MPMRC’s estimate (322.91 crores); therefore, the contract should be given without delay in the coming weeks.
SAM India has now won three times in a row. They were the lowest bidders for the AGCC-02 and KNPCC-06 tunnelling contracts in Agra and Kanpur.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will fund Bhopal’s depot contract with a €400 million loan. It will be built according to IGBC platinum-rated standards, including standard train stabling, washing/cleaning, inspection, maintenance, repairs, and overhaul facilities.
As part of a larger 156 coach rolling stock contract with Indore Metro, the depot will initially house 27 train sets of three coaches (for a total of 81 coaches). Technical bids are set to open on March 4th, and bidding is currently underway.
