MADURAI (Metro Rail News): Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. has been declared the lowest bidder to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Madurai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) project in Tamil Nadu. The decision was announced on Thursday after technical bids were opened earlier this month, revealing 4 bidders.
Balaji Railroad Systems (BARSYL) prepared the DFR (Detailed Feasibility Report) for the project and submitted it to Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in November 2022, which proposed building a 31 km transit line between Thirumangalam – Othakadai. The proposed line includes 20 stations and a train maintenance depot to be constructed on a 45-acre site at Thirumangalam. After reviewing the feasibility report, Tamil Nadu’s state government approved the preparation of a DPR in January 2023.
In February, CMRL invited bids for the DPR contract with a Rs. 3 crore estimate and a 75-day completion deadline. Aarvee Associates submitted a bid of Rs. 1,35,93,600, which was way below CMRL’s budgeted estimate (just 45% of it). On the other hand, Balaji Railroad Systems submitted a bid of Rs. 1,64,24,420; RITES Ltd. submitted a bid of Rs. 3,29,22,000, and SYSTRA MVA Consulting (India) Pvt. Ltd. submitted a bid of Rs. 3,50,46,000.
The creation of the DPR for Madurai MRTS project will help determine whether a heavy-rail metro system or a “metro-lite” light-rail transit (LRT) system should be built, as well as provide other system specifications such as the location of stations and the depot.
