Bangalore Metro bids disappoint as contractors go underground

Only a handful of construction companies appear to be keen on building the underground (UG) metro corridor in the city. Even after relaxing a few conditions and retendering the 2.75-km UG section of Phase II, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) has received no more contractors than it did in the previous tender.

Only four companies submitted bids for the UG line between the Vellara Junction and Shivajinagar, which is part of the 21-km Reach 6 of Phase II. The line passing through central Bengaluru connects Gottigere and Nagawara. The four firms that bid are: Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), Italian-Thai Development (ITD)-Gulermak (joint venture), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Afcons Infrastructure. Except HCC, all these had participated in the previous tender floated in November last year. This time, Gulerkmark and ITD are competing for the project together.

As the procedure allowed participation of contractors with the experience of building underground roads (not necessarily a metro corridor), HCC could qualify.

Namma Metro was forced to re-tender the project as the four contractors had quoted 69% more than what the transport utility had estimated. More so, each firm was the lowest bidder in four different packages of the 14-km underground stretch.

To avoid possible repetition, the BMRCL floated tenders only for the 7-km stretch in two packages in June this year and has kept the remaining 7-km section on hold.

The final date to submit bids for the second part of the underground section — that connects the above-mentioned 2.75-km section — is November 2. The 2.88-km stretch is from Shivajinagar to Tannery Road and will have three underground stations, including Cantonment and Pottery Town.

Multiple sources said the same four companies are likely to participate in the bids to construct the 2.88-km stretch as well. “Not many companies want to involve in underground metro projects due to high risk factors,” one contractor said. He also felt the prices quoted by the companies could be higher due to factors such as the fall of the rupee against the dollar, high fuel cost and investment towards purchasing a new tunnel boring machine.

The Namma Metro is, however, keeping its fingers crossed for a fair and competitive bidding process. “We were expecting at least six companies to participate in the bids as over a dozen companies had purchased tender documents. We hope the prices quoted by the firms are competitive,” a BMRCL official said.