L&T Wins Chennai Metro Phase 2’s Tunneling Work

Besides Line-4’s elevated Package ECV-02, Larsen & Toubro today also emerged as the lowest bidder to construct roughly 42 kms of underground tunnels (Packages TU01 & TU02) using tunnel boring machines (TBMs) of Chennai Metro’s new 45.81 km Line-3 (Madhavaram – SIPCOT).

Both these packages on Line-3’s 26.7 km underground section of the 118.9 km Phase 2 project also consist of partial diaphragm & entry/exit structural work at 8 stations. The rest of the station work will be carried out through 5 dedicated station packages for which bidding is currently underway.

CMRL had invited tenders (bids) for both tunnel packages in January 2020 and expects the assigned contractor(s) to finish all civil works within 1460 (4 years). Technical bids were opened in October 2020 to reveal 4 bidders for each package.

Package TU-01

CMRL’s Estimate: Approx Rs. 1800 crore

Financial Bid Values:

Firm	Bid
Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T)	Rs. 1998.00 crore
Tata Projects Ltd. (TPL)	Rs. 1999.00 crore
Gulermak Agir Sanayi Insaat ve Taahhut A.S. (Gulermak)	Rs. 2270.07 crore
Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd – Woh Hup Pte Ltd Joint Venture (STEC – WH JV)	Disqualified in Technical Bid Evaluation

Scope of TU01: Construction of approximately 9 km twin bored tunnels (total = 18 km) from the TBM Retrieval Shaft near Venugopal Nagar (of Line-5) to Kellys Station, and the construction of diaphragm walls, entry/exit structures of Madhavaram Milk Colony Station, Murari Hospital Station, Ayanavaram Station and Purasaiwakkam High Road Station, including launching and retrieval shafts at the above stations.

Package TU-02

CMRL’s Estimate: Approx Rs. 2550 crore

Financial Bid Values:

Firm	Bid
Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T)	Rs. 2385.00 crore
Tata Projects Ltd. (TPL)	Rs. 2542.00 crore
Gulermak Agir Sanayi Insaat ve Taahhut A.S. (Gulermak)	Rs. 2682.81 crore
Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd – Woh Hup Pte Ltd Joint Venture (STEC – WH JV)	Disqualified in Technical Bid Evaluation

Scope of TU02: Construction of approximately 12 km twin bored tunnels (total = 24 km) from Kellys Station to Taramani Road Junction and the construction of diaphragm walls, entry/exit structures of Chetpet station, Royapettah Government Hospital Station, Thiruvanmiyu Station, and part diaphragm wall of Greenways Road Station, including launching and retrieval shafts at the above stations.

Here’s CMRL’s official map for Phase 2 with my edits emphasizing the start/end points of each package:

In Package TU-01, L&T beat TPL by just Rs. 1 crore! L&T’s bid was Rs. 198 crore (11%) higher than CMRL’s estimate – so after negotiations – this should be awarded to them.

In Package TU-02, L&T’s bid was approx. Rs. 165 crore (6.47%) less than CMRL’s estimate, so there should be no issues during financial bid evaluation.

NOTE: This is unconfirmed right now, but CMRL may have placed restrictions on contractors winning more than 1 contract for Line-3’s tunnels to reduce risk, just like it was done in Ahmedabad Metro’s Phase 1. If that’s the case, then L&T and TPL will be awarded one tunnel package each.

UPDATE: It’s confirmed that one contractor can win only one package – see snippet from tender document below. For CMRL to achieve the least cost – following negotiations, package TU-01 will likely be awarded to TPL and package TU-02 to L&T.

Here’s a status of Line-3’s civil packages where bidding has started. Tender notices are still pending for the line’s elevated section between Taramani Road Junction and SIPCOT. That portion will be partly financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through a $780 million (approx. Rs. 5890 crore) loan.

Line-3: Package TU01 – 9 km tunnels from Venugopal Nagar Shaft to Kelly’s Station and partial works at 4 stations	L&T is lowest bidder but TPL likely to be awarded contract (this post)
Line-3: Package TU02 – 12 km twin tunnels from Kellys Station to Taramani Road Junction and partial works at 4 stations	L&T is lowest bidder (this post)
Line-3: Package UG-01 – 5 stations and 2 partial stations (Madhavaram to Perambur)	Bids Invited November 7
Line-3: Package UG-02 – 4 stations and 2 partial stations (Ayanavaram to Kellys)	Bids Invited November 7
Line-3: Package UG-03 – 5 stations and 2 partial stations (KMC to Royapettah)	Bids Invited November 7
Line-3: Package UG-04 – 4 stations and 1 partial station (Radhakrishnan to Adyar Junction)	Bids Invited November 7
Line-3: Package UG-05 – 3 stations and 1 partial station (Adyar Depot – Taramani Link Road Ramp)	Bids Invited November 7

A list of all Chennai Metro Phase 2 tenders (civil, systems) and their status can be viewed here.

For more updates on India’s metro systems, check out my Home Page!

– TMRG