SP Singla Wins New Digha – Sonepur Bridge’s Contract in Bihar

SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd. (SPCPL) on Thursday was declared as the lowest bidder for the new Sonepur – Digha Bridge’s construction work on NH-139W in Bihar on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode.

This 6 lane bridge over the Ganga River by India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will be built on the western-side of the existing Sonepur – Digha Rail & Road Bridge known as J.P. Setu. That bridge was inaugurated in March 2016 to link Patna and Saran districts (view on Google Maps).

The total length of the project is 6.925 km which includes a 4.556 km long extra-dosed bridge and 2.369 kms of approach roads. MoRTH had invited bids for its civil construction in January 2023 with a Rs. 2635.89 crore construction estimate and 42 month deadline. Technical bids were opened barely 10 days ago to reveal 10 bidders.

Four of the bidders (Ansal Highway, Gammon, R & C Infraengineers & Spica Projects) were disqualified right away as they hadn’t submitted a physical bid along with their online bid. DRA Infracon – YFC Projects JV was disqualified during technical evaluation as they failed to demonstrate adequate experience mandated by the tender’s requirements.

Financial Bid Values

FirmBid (Rs. Crore)
SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd. (SPCPL)2221.47
Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. (ABL)2322.00
Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T)2356.30
Kalpataru Projects International Ltd. (KPIL)2405.00
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL)2525.55

MoRTH’s Brief Scope: Construction of 6 lane H.L./Extra-dosed Cable Bridge on River Ganga parallel to Western side (180 meter upstream) of Digha- Sonepur Rail-cum-Road Bridge at Patna on Ganga River on NH-139W in the state of Bihar on EPC mode

Location of new Digha- Sonepur Bridge – via MoRTH’s tender documents
Planned interchange at Digha – via MoRTH’s tender documents

I found that physical bid submission requirement strange because we’re living in 2024 and not 2004. Anyways, SP Singla’s bid of Rs. 2221.47 crore was well below MoRTH’s estimate of Rs. 2635.89 crore – so a contract should be awarded in the coming weeks without a long financial bid evaluation period.

When constructed, SP Singla will be responsible for maintaining the bridge for a period of three and a half years.

The project’s construction was approved by the Central Government’s cabinet on December 27, 2023 with a total estimated cost of Rs. 3064.45 crore. The project’s benefits are listed over here on the government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) website.

For more updates, check out the Bridges 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

written by

Global traveler who prefers mass rapid transit

7 Responses to "SP Singla Wins New Digha – Sonepur Bridge’s Contract in Bihar"

  1. Adarsh says:

    Again sp singla 🤦🏻
    Looks like government forgot how bad they are and what they did in Bihar

    Reply
    • Raghib says:

      They want another disaster to happen but now in Patna.

      Reply
      • UnknownS says:

        I think another mistake, by bihar government, I think some setters in bihar transport ministry.
        First Blacklist this company.

        Reply
        • Bhagwat says:

          Those who are saying that company should be blacklisted should know that this company has delivered some very good projects. The disaster was due to the fact that the bridge was being constructed by Bihar government. Now this is a central government project so don’t expect that disaster. Sp singla is also constructing another bridge in Patna that’s why they are able to bid less than giants. Now that have multiple projects in Patna.

          Reply
  2. Unknown says:

    What’s up!!! Only the same firm has been securing signature projects

    Reply
  3. Reeti nath says:

    That can happen only in bihar. The contractor which was responsible for bridge collapse in bhagalpur is getting another big project! Seems blessing is coming from somewhere…

    Reply
  4. Godi says:

    Election bonds will ensure many more Godi infra disaster

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *