Afcons Wins Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train’s C2 Tunnel Contract

June 8, 2023 Update: Afcons and NHSRCL have signed a Rs. Rs. 6397.27 crore contract for the civil construction of Package C2. LOA was issued in mid-May.

April 6, 2023 Original Post: After much drama in the construction industry’s circles, Afcons Infrastructure today emerged as the lowest bidder to construct 20.377 km underground Package C-2 of the 508.17 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR Bullet Train).

Package C2 of the main-line will link chainage Km 0.773 (Bandra Kurla Complex Station) to Km 21.150 (Shilphata Ramp) and consist of roughly 3 km “undersea” twin tunnels below Thane Creek. The appointed contractor will be required to use at least 3 Mega TBMs with a diameter of roughly 14.5 meters.

National National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) had originally invited bids for this package in 2019, which received zero bids, and then again in November 2021 which was canceled in February 2022.

For the latest round, bids were invited in September 2022 with a 1888 day (5.17 years) deadline and an unknown estimate. Technical bids were opened in February to reveal 2 bidders – L&T and Afcons.

Technical bid evaluation was completed on Wednesday. When financial bids were opened today, it was revealed that Afcons offered a 9.11% discount which allowed them to narrowly clinch the contract. L&T offered none.

Financial Bid Values

Firm	Bid
Afcons Infrastructure	Rs. 7009.88 crore
Larsen & Toubro	Rs. 4577.61 crore + USD 245 million

Final Net Price Values (After discount and currency conversion)

Firm	Bid (Rs. Crore)
Afcons Infrastructure	6371.28
Larsen & Toubro	6584.16

IFB Number: Package No. MAHSR-C-2

Brief Scope: Construction of Tunnelling Works including Testing and Commissioning for Double Line High Speed Railway using (TBM) and (NATM) between Mumbai Underground Station at Bandra-Kurla Complex (MAHSR Km. 0.773) and Shilphata (MAHSR Km. 21.150)

Without NHSRCL’s estimate, I can’t provide an assessment of how Afcons’ bid is placed. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.

If the bid falls within NHSRCL’s estimate, then we should see Afcons starting preliminary construction work in Q3 2023 and actual tunneling work in 2025. They’ve historically tied up with Herrenknecht for metro projects and more recently with Terratec for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS, so I believe their 3 TBMs will definitely come from either of those suppliers.

With this development, 135.45 km Package C3 (Shilphata – Zaroli) in Maharashtra is the only civil package left in the bidding stage. The current bid submission deadline is April 11 with technical bids scheduled to be opened on the following day, so stay tuned!

A list of all bullet train civil & system packages and their status can be viewed here.

For more updates, check out the High Speed Rail section or my Home Page! Sign up for free instant email notifications on new posts over here. Like this post? Get early-access to updates and support the site over here.

– TMRG