Afcons Lowest Bidder for Vijayawada Metro’s PNBS – Nidamanuru Line
Afcons Infrastructure has emerged as the lowest bidder for constructing Vijayawada Metro’s 13.365 km elevated Line-2 (package AMCC-01) between Pandit Nehru Bus Stand and Nidamanuru after officials from the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) opened the financial bids submitted by different civil infrastructure companies.
The DMRC had originally invited bids for this line in September 2015 and even shortlisted 8 infrastructure firms, but JICA – the original lender of the project made a silent exit due to critical issues ranging from the project’s financial viability to how the bidding was hurriedly conducted before the official loan was even signed. The DMRC then re-invited bids for the line’s construction in November 2016 after officials from KfW and AFD lending agencies visited Vijayawada and took a keen interest in financing the city’s 26.03 km metro project.
The DMRC had estimated this package to cost Rs 801 crore, and at this time the financial/price bid submitted by Afcons isn’t known. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was the only other bidder who technically qualified through to the last stage of the bidding process.
The 13.365 km Line-2 consists of 13 elevated stations at Pandit Nehru Bus Stand (interchange with Line-1), Railway Station South, Railway Station East, Besant Road, Seeta Rampuram Signal, Machavaram Down, Padavalarevu, Gunadala, Ramavarapadu Ring, Prasadampadu, MBT Centre, Enikepadu and Nidamanuru.
Vijayawada-Amaravati Metro’s Map – view system info
The Letter of Award (LoA) is expected to be handed over in the coming weeks after which ground work can be expected to start in Q3 2017. As per one source, financial bids for the 12.545 km Line-1 (package AMCC-02) between Pandit Nehru Bus Stand and Penamaluru will be opened only after the LoA for Line-2 is handed over.
For more updates, check out the Vijayawada section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
When will be phase-4 started ????
Depends on a couple factors
1) When pre-construction surveys are completed
2) When construction bids are invited
3) When DMRC ties up external funding
Give it time. Work ain’t expected to start this year.
Who is the GC?
DMRC
When will lift and escalators tendor starts?
Not sure. I don’t keep a track of escalator bids, so I’d suggest you check DMRC’s tender page from time to time.
Whether the metro will start this year. Whether ap government needs metro before elections?
DMRC just cancelled the tender for this line due to 2 reasons floating in the media – (1) Afcons’ bid was too high, and (2) slow progress in land acquisition.
We’ll perhaps never know the real reason, but financial viability would be at the top.
Whether ap government needs metro before elections?