KPIL – Gulermak JV Wins Bhopal Metro’s Underground Contract BH-04

March 21, 2024 Update: MPMRCL has awarded contract LOA to KPIL – Gulermak JV valued at Rs. 769 crore.

February 7, 2024 Original Post: Kalpataru Projects International Ltd. (KPIL) – Gulermak JV was today declared as the lowest bidder for the underground tunneling and construction works (Package BH-04) of Bhopal Metro’s Orange Line by Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MPMRCL).

Twin tunnels on 3.39 km Package BH-04 will connect a ramp south of Sindhi Colony Station with a ramp west of Aish Bagh Crossing Station via 2 underground stations at Bhopal Junction Station and Nadra Bus Stand.

This is the first and only underground package of the 27.87 km Bhopal Metro Phase 1 project. Construction will be financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) through a €400 million (approx. Rs. 3584 crore) loan signed in December 2019.

MPMRCL had invited bids for its construction in May 2023 with a Rs. 892 crore estimate and 1274 days (3.5 year) construction deadline. Technical bids were opened in October 2023 to reveal 6 bidders.

Financial Bid Values

Firm	Bid (Rs. Crore)
KPIL – Gulermak JV	768.99
Larsen & Toubro (L&T)	823.14
ITD Cementation India	835.46
Afcons Infrastructure (AIL)	847.26
Tata Projects Ltd. (TPL)	869.38
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC)	917.54

Brief Scope: Design Construction of Twin Tunnel Cut Cover Cross passages with OR without sump Ramps two UG Stations including Architectural finishing Water Supply Sanitary Installation and Drainage works in entire UG from CH 28375 to 31765 for Bhopal Metro

My map above was created when the line was officially designated as the Purple Line. I’ll create one with orange color when possible.

KPIL – Gulermak JV’s bid of Rs. 768.99 crore was well below MPMRCL’s estimate of Rs. 892 crore, so a contract should be awarded in the coming weeks without a long financial bid evaluation period.

This is KPIL – Gulermak JV’s second major win in the past few months. Back in December 2023, they were awarded Kanpur Metro Line-2’s Rs. 762.50 crore contract for 4.08 km underground Package KNPCC-11 comprising of 3 stations.

With this development, I expect basic ground work to start towards the middle of Q2 2024 and full-fledged construction work in Q3 2024. MPMRCL will likely require KPIL – Gulermak JV to deploy a minimum of 2 tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for constructing 6 tunnels.

Package BH-04 is the Orange Line’s 4th and final civil package to enter the financial bid opening stage after packages BH-01 (AIIMS to Subhash Nagar), BH-06 (Subhash Nagar Depot), and BH-03 (Subhash Nagar to Aish Bagh Ramp and Sindhi Colony Ramp to Karond Circle).

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

For more updates, check out the Bhopal 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