ITD-ITD Cem JV Lowest Bidder for Bangalore Metro’s Reach 1A

A couple days after emerging as the lowest bidder for the 7.218 km Reach 1B, the Italian-Thai Development – ITD Cementation India (ITD-ITD Cem) JV has now also turned out to be the lowest bidder for constructing the 72 km Phase 2 project’s 8.039km Reach 1A between the existing Baiyappanahalli Station and the upcoming Visvesvaraya Industrial Area Station. Along with Reach 1B, the Reach 1A section will extend the operational 18 km Purple Line further eastward by another 15.257 km to Whitefield.

The BMRCL invited bids for this package in December 2016 with an estimated cost of Rs. 670.72 crores, and the ITD-ITD Cem JV submitted the lowest bid at Rs. 689.51 crores.

Financial bid values submitted by the lowest 2 technically qualified firms:

Firm Bid
ITD-ITD Cem JV Rs. 689.51 cr
Simplex Rs. 763.04 cr

Note: NCC’s financial bid was not opened as they were disqualified in the technical round either due to their bid or issues stemming from their bank guarantee.

This section includes 6 new stations at Jyothipuram, KR Puram, Mahadevapura, Garudacharpalya, Doddanakundi Industrial Area, Visvesvaraya Industrial Area. The KR Puram Station will in the future also serve as an interchange for the upcoming 17 km Silkboard – KR Puram line (Phase 2A) which was just approved by the state government’s cabinet earlier this month.

Reach 1A of Bangalore’s Metro – view Bangalore Metro Phase 2 map & info

The line’s exact alignment and location of stations can be viewed in this PDF released by the BMRCL in mid-December 2016.

The ‘General Information and Qualification Requirement’ section of the notice inviting tenders does not stipulate or prohibit one bidder from being awarded both Reach 1A and Reach 1B, so in the coming days, if no extraneous issues arise, then the BMRCL will go on to award the ITD-ITD Cem JV with the 72 km Phase 2 project’s 6th major civil contract:

Line Reach Stretch Contractor
Purple 2A Mysore Road –
Pattanagere (3.945 km)
IL&FS
Green 4B Yelechenahalli –
Anjanapura Twp (6.290 km)
NCC
Purple 2B Pattanagere –
Challeghata (4.869 km)
Soma
Green 3C BIEC –
Hessaraghata (3.031 km)
Simplex
Purple 1B Visvesvaraya Ind. Area –
Whitefield (7.218 km)
ITD-ITD Cem
Purple 1A Baiyappanahalli –
Visvesvaraya Ind Area
(8.039 km)
ITD-ITD Cem

Like Reach 1B, tree cutting & demolition of the acquired properties is well underway with some land acquisition still pending as per the March newsletter. With this development, ground-work for the construction of this section is expected to begin in June 2017 and I see it opening for commercial operations no sooner than 2022.

Phase 2’s Status

Blue: Under Construction | Black: Contract Awarded | Orange: Financial Bids Opened | Purple: Bids Invited | Grey: Bids Yet to be Invited

Next in line is the 19.14 km RV Road – Bommasandra line (Reach 5) which consists of 3 civil packages – 1, 2 & 3. Stay tuned to find out who is or are the lowest bidders and eventual civil contractors for them!

April 25 2017 Update: BMRCL has awarded ITD with this section’s contract:

For more updates, check out the Bangalore section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG

written by

Global traveler who prefers mass rapid transit

27 Responses to "ITD-ITD Cem JV Lowest Bidder for Bangalore Metro’s Reach 1A"

  1. Ronith says:

    TMRG, because the entire extension is being awarded to the same JV, could it mean better cooperation and coordination? Will this reduce the time required for construction and commercial operations? Thank you.

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Yes, there’ll definitely be better coordination leading to time savings. And the way the ‘economies of scale’ concept works, ITD can end up making a higher profit if they plan it right.

      Reply
      • Pavan says:

        TMRG, but won’t this be similar to putting all eggs in one basket. While the best case scenario might be better coordinated and efficient project execution, I can’t help but imagine a worst case scenario where if the company screws up, then the entire project is held back and not just a section.

        Do these contracts have stipulations that assess progress periodically? penalties for insufficient progress, or inferior quality of work etc.?

        Reply
  2. Madhu says:

    Hi TMRG,
    ITD-ITD Cem bidding price is lesser than the nearest competitiors by huge margin. Do you expect delay in construction due to this and finally ask for cost escalation etc., from them or they just finish fast to avoid any penalty from the bmrcl.

    rgds
    Madhu

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi, I can’t comment on what they plan to do internally. Hopefully the BMRCL will keep them on a tight leash throughout the project’s course.

      Reply
  3. Sahil says:

    TMRG – this is a general question. I’m wondering why you don’t post news on the same day? I have observed there’s always a delay of 1 day.

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi, 2 reasons:
      1) Other personal/work commitments
      2) My desire & goal to post/tweet only verified content. All news is verified through multiple sources before you ever see it. I’d rather be “right” than “first” to publish 🙂

      Reply
    • Sunny says:

      What do you expect him to answer to that question ? TMRG is not obligated to post on the same day nor is he a newspaper journo to earn from these blogs !
      Be content with free material being supplied and if possible contribute !
      Thanks.

      Reply
    • Sunny Singh says:

      What do you expect him to answer to that question ? TMRG is not obligated to post on the same day nor is he a newspaper journo to earn from these blogs !
      Be content with free material being supplied and if possible contribute !
      Thanks.

      Reply
  4. Anoop says:

    1A is Baiyappanahalli –Visvesvaraya Ind. Area and not as mentioned in the table

    Reply
  5. yantraka says:

    As a company and as a JV, how does ITD and ITD-ITD Cem measure up with other infrastructure companies like CEC, ECC, NCC, Soma and their JVs like CEC-Soma?

    Reply
  6. Chandrakumara CM says:

    Hi,
    Add a last column where you mention when the each project going to be commissioned.

    Reply
  7. Shashidhar says:

    the whole purpose of diving this into multiple packages is defeated due to same company winning both the packages , There should be rule that a company can win only 1 package in each line , other wise we have a company winning all 3/4 sections of UG and end up delaying the work

    Reply
    • Ronith says:

      That cannot be a valid reason for delaying work because even though both packages have been won by the same JV, they still have only 27 months to finish each section individually. It cannot happen that they will work from only one end. They will have to simultaneously commence and do work on both the sections.
      Ex – Hypothetically, even if the entire UG line of Phase 2 is won by a single JV, it cannot happen that they’ll use only 2/4 TBM’s for drilling, they’ll probably have to use 8-10(as TMRG said)as per the work order. I am guessing this could be the answer to your question. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Shashidhar says:

        Its not only about the TBM Machines or other equipment , usually to avoid the risk of delay by one company infra projects are split into multiple packages . With 2 different companies risk would be little less . That too very important section of Whitefield metro entirely is being handed over to a single company thats my concern.

        As it is BMRCL is facing huge delays with current Phase 1 . BMRCL has to ensure time bound monitoring now that the same company has got both the packages

        Reply
        • Ronith says:

          Well then, clearly by splitting up the packages, BMRCL has had way too many missed deadlines in Phase 1. It’s beating the entire purpose of splitting, as you said. Thus, whether or not a single Jv wins the entire extension, it isn’t a reliable indicator to say that there will be a delay. More over, it could lead to shaving off time in completion as there will be better coordination.

          Reply
  8. kishore nanda says:

    what is the current status of underground tests for north and south corrdior any good news or postponment the opening dates.

    Reply
  9. sumanth says:

    hi tmrg
    can you tell me where exactly kengeri station is going to be, have not seen any work going in that region… also is there going to be a metro station after nice road in this section

    Reply
  10. Amol says:

    Hi TMRG, can the awarded value can be tabulated to have a grasp of value of work to be executed.Thanks

    Reply
  11. Hemendra Nanavaty says:

    Thank you very much for providing all information and I highly appreciate your being right than first. I am curious to know if
    BMRCL need any more approval before they invite bids for ORR line. And when can we expect construction to begin. Thank you

    Reply
  12. Prashant Gupta says:

    What is the expected date for completion for phase
    1A is Baiyappanahalli –Visvesvaraya Ind. Area?

    Reply
  13. Prashant Gupta says:

    Hi TMRG

    What is the expected date for completion for phase
    1A (Baiyappanahalli –Visvesvaraya Ind. Area) ?

    Thanks for your response in Advance https://media.giphy.com/media/PBM14uaJCbp72/giphy.gif

    Reply

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