KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): On Tuesday, three companies, namely Larsen & Toubro, ITD Cementation India, and Afcons Infrastructure, placed their bids for the UGI underground contract of the Kolkata Metro Purple Line. The contract is for a distance of 5.05 km, between Mominpur and Esplanade.
In July 2022, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) requested bids for this contract, which had an estimated value of Rs. 2571.28 crore and an undisclosed deadline.
The last 15.215 km section of Line-3 (Joka – Esplanade), located in the northern region, will have two twin tunnels and four underground stations – Kidderpore, Victoria, Park Street, and Esplanade. The contractor assigned to this project will need to utilize two new tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and have one TBM on standby.
The Joka-Esplanade metro corridor in West Bengal, India requires the design and construction of a ramp and underground railway works covering a 5.05 km stretch (from chainage 9063.00m to 14113.00m). The scope of work includes four underground stations – Khidderpore, Victoria, Park Street, and Esplanade, tunnel construction through tunnel boring machines and cut & cover methods, architectural finishing works, track works, and more.
All three bids are undergoing technical evaluation, which is expected to take a few months to complete. Once the technical evaluation is concluded, the financial bids of the qualified bidders will be opened to identify the lowest bidder and the most likely contractor for this package.
It is anticipated that a contractor will be assigned to begin tunnelling work on this project in mid-2025, with the expectation of assigning the contractor in the second half of 2023. However, delays in the tendering process will likely result in this section not being operational until 2028. This extended timeline will result in the recently opened 6.49 km Joka-Taratala elevated section functioning as a disconnected stand-alone line for an extended period of time.
