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Second set of bids for metro projects cleared

March 09, 2004 09:04 IST

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority has finalised a second set of bidders for the ambitious Mumbai Urban Transport Project and Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project.

The authority received appreciation from senior World Bank officials, who reviewed the progress of the two projects on Monday.

MMRDA additional metropolitan commissioner and MUTP director T Chandreshekar said, "The World Bank team, headed by its Washington-based director for transport and urban development Maryon Vowmme, conducted a review of the various road projects, rehabilitation projects and transit tenements under the MUTP and MUIP. The team appreciated the progress of the projects."

The second tranche included Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) worth road works cleared under the MUIP. This takes the total worth of projects cleared for implementation to Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion).

Rs 800 crore worth road works have been finalised under the MUTP with Gammon India, Patel Engineering and Nagarjuna among others.

In addition to these, tenders were also finalised for rehabilitation of the project-affected, with Larsen & Toubro bagging a contract for constructing 6,000 tenements, Videocon for constructing 4,000 tenements and the Billimoria group for 2,000 tenements.

Gammon India will take up a Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) road corridor project consisting of railway over bridges to link the western suburb of Santacruz with the eastern Chembur under the MUTP.

The important feature of this project is the construction of a two-storeyed viaduct near Kurla.

In the first phase of tender finalisations, ten infrastructure projects worth Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) were finalised by the MMRDA.

These projects, under the Rs 1,980 crore (Rs 19.80 billion) phase I of the MUIP, were given to 27 contractors including Reliance group, Shapoorji and Pallonji group and Wallecha and co.

These included the individual components identified for development under the MUIP on the western and eastern express highways, Swami Vivekananda road, western Relief Road, Linking Road, LBS Road, Andheri-Ghatkopar Link road, Sahar Airport road, Goregaon-Mulund link road as well as the roads around the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and the international airport.

The first phase of the Rs 2,647 crore (Rs 26.47 billion) MUIP will see the creation of infrastructure in terms of 83 roads, seven elevated roads, 36 flyovers, four rail overbridges, 10 subways and 25 pedestrian subways.

The entire project involves a total infrastructure creation of 134 roads spanning a distance of 462.28 kms, 10 elevated roads, 41 flyovers, 16 rail over bridges, 10 vehicle subways and 56 pedestrian subways. The tender finalisation of the remaining Rs 1,380 crore (Rs 13.80 billion) of phase I of the MUIP is progressing.

Renni Abraham in Mumbai