ITD-ITD Cem JV Lowest Bidder for Bangalore Metro’s Whitefield Extn

That was quick!

Yesterday, the Italian-Thai Development – ITD Cementation India (ITD-ITD Cem) JV emerged as the lowest bidder for constructing the 7.218 km Visvesvaraya Industrial Area – Whitefield extension of the 18 km Purple Line after the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) opened all financial bids submitted by different infrastructure companies.

The BMRCL invited bids for this most-awaited package of the city, officially referred to as Reach 1B, of the 72 km Phase 2 project in December 2016 with an estimated cost of Rs 666.12 crores, and the ITD-ITD Cem JV put in the lowest bid at Rs. 683.79 crores.

Here are the financial bid values submitted by the lowest 3 technically qualified firms:

Firm Bid
ITD-ITD Cem JV Rs. 683.79 cr
NCC Rs. 695.08 cr
Simplex Rs. 807.40 cr

This elevated extension in east Bangalore will be entirely elevated and consist of 7 new stations at Kundalahalli, Vydehi Hospital, Sri Satya Sai Hospital, ITPL, Kadugodi, Ujwala Vidyalaya and Whitefield. The contractor will also be responsible for constructing a small viaduct connecting the main-line to the proposed Whitefield Depot which will be located at the north-west corner of Hope Farm Junction.

Reach 1B of Bangalore's Metro - view Bangalore Metro Phase 2 map & info

Reach 1B of Bangalore’s Metro – view Bangalore Metro Phase 2 map & info

The line’s exact alignment and location of stations can be viewed in this PDF released by the BMRCL in mid December 2016.

Tree cutting & demolition of the acquired properties is well underway and with this development, ground-work for the construction of this section is now expected to begin in June 2017. As mentioned previously, I expect this section to open for commercial operations no sooner than 2022.

If no issues arise, then in the coming days the BMRCL, with KfW’s approval, will go on to award ITD-ITD Cem with the 72 km Phase 2 project’s 5th major civil contract:

Line Reach Stretch Contractor
Purple 2A Mysore Road –
Pattanagere (3.945 km)
IL&FS
Green 4B Yelechenahalli –
Anjanapura Twp (6.290 km)
NCC
Purple 2B Pattanagere –
Challeghata (4.869 km)
Soma
Green 3C BIEC –
Hessaraghata (3.031 km)
Simplex
Purple 1B Visvesvaraya Ind. Area –
Whitefield (7.218 km)
ITD-ITD Cem

Phase 2’s Status

Blue: Under Construction | Black: Contract Awarded | Orange: Financial Bids Opened | Purple: Bids Invited | Grey: Bids Yet to be Invited

Out of all contracts awarded so far in Phase 2, the bidding stage for this section has been the fastest to be concluded with the BMRCL taking only 1 month to open all tender documents, evaluate the eligibility of all bidders, evaluate their technical bids and open financial bids to determine this section’s contractor. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the elevated sections which include Reach 1A (Baiyappanahalli – Visvesvaraya Ind. Area), Reach 5 (RV Road – Bommasandra) and Reach 6 (Gottigere-Swagath Road).

May 3 2017 Update: BMRCL has awarded ITD with this section’s contract:

Source: BMRCL

For more updates, check out the Bangalore section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG

written by

Global traveler who prefers mass rapid transit

28 Responses to "ITD-ITD Cem JV Lowest Bidder for Bangalore Metro’s Whitefield Extn"

  1. Parthasarathy S says:

    A Good sign for Phase-II. Even with delays expected in the underground stretch, if rest of the corridors are completed soon it will be great for Bengaluru! Things seem to be quickening and not a second sooner. Hope all the bids invited for are awarded by mid next-quarter and works starts in the third quarter.

    We need something to cheer for desperately (despite the anticipated traffic snarls once the work begins).

    Reply
  2. Nithin says:

    @TMRG do you know how many TBMs they are planning to use for gottigere nagawara section?

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi, as per the MD, the underground section will have 4 civil packages, so I’m looking at anywhere from 8-12 TBMs being deployed. This sort of information, including the stipulated use of new or refurbished TBMs, will be revealed in the tender documents.

      Reply
      • Nithin says:

        I hope this time they take the geology of Bangalore into account so that they won’t have so many breakdowns like phase 1

        Reply
  3. Pavan says:

    Forgive me, I am not aware of the details of how the tendering process works. how long does it take for the construction work to begin, once the financial bids are open ? I presume the next step is awarding the contract.

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi, questions are always welcome! After the financial bids are opened, it can take anywhere from 2 to 4 months for ground work to begin. Now that ITD-ITD Cem knows they’re the lowest bidder (L1), they’ll begin mobilizing resources and start hiring workers, engineers & managers even before the contract is officially awarded.

      The award of contract usually takes anywhere from 0 days (same day) to 1 month. In most cases, it’s done within a week but there have been times when the losing bidders have threatened to initiate (or even initiated) legal proceedings leading to massive delays. Eg. Afcons versus Tata in Nagpur – see this post

      Reply
    • Munawar Khan says:

      Respected Sir As per your, comments for Metro.
      I want to discuss some business lead can you please mail me your contact number or call me
      Regards
      Munawar Khan
      Alfa Rayaan Steels pvt Ltd
      Email id [email protected]

      Reply
  4. Nimit says:

    Why will it take 5 years to complete if you expecting the groundwork for start in June?

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi, the Whitefield extension consisting of Reach 1A & 1B (15.257 km) is almost as long as the existing Purple Line (18 km), and constructing it over jam-packed roads and intersections will not be an easy task. Land acquisition is still not complete (refer to the March newsletter) and the new Kadugodi Depot’s land is entangled in an ownership battle between the forest and revenue departments. Constructing the depot and making it operational only requires a max of 3 years, so that isn’t a big issue right now but could turn into a limiter if Reach 1B is ready, but Reach 1A is not for whatever reasons. Either way, the line’s scope (length & complexity) and site constraints are the main limiter, and I just don’t see operations starting before 2022 (4.5 yrs out from June). That said, let’s see what new challenges crop up during construction; hopefully nothing major.

      Reply
  5. Sanjay says:

    Why is the company name ITD-ITD repeated twice?

    Reply
    • Nagnath says:

      ITD Cementation India Ltd is India based company.
      ITD is Italian Thai Development company and its Thailand based Parent company

      Reply
      • TMRG says:

        Spot on! International companies cannot bid for projects by themselves, so they either tie up with another local firm (Eg. Coastal-TTS JV which is building the Mantri-National College UG stretch) or they set up a local Indian subsidiary and bid together as a joint venture (Eg. CEC-CICI which built the MG Road – Magadi Road UG stretch).

        Reply
      • Munawar Khan says:

        Respected Sir As per your, comments for Metro.
        I want to discuss some business lead can you please mail me your contact number or call me
        Regards
        Munawar Khan
        Alfa Rayaan Steels pvt Ltd
        Email id [email protected]

        Reply
  6. Munav says:

    When will the contract get sanctioned?

    Reply
  7. sourav biswas says:

    i am a contractteer

    Reply
  8. JC says:

    Hi TMRG

    I have 2 questions about this reach.

    1. Why a detour instead of extending the line (via Hoodi) to ITPL ?

    2. There are many high tension towers and lines near Vydehi …how will this impact the alignment of this line ? as I dont think these power lines can be moved from the way.

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi,
      1) Apparently done on the insistence of a former minister – see this
      2) I’m not aware of the utility shifting plan’s details, but if it’s on the way of the viaduct’s infra then it’ll definitely be moved.

      Reply
      • JC says:

        Thanks for the details.

        1. This is simply absurd.

        2. I read in the newsletters that there is a proposal to move these power lines underground.

        Reply
      • Munawar Khan says:

        Respected Sir As per your, comments for Metro.
        I want to discuss some business lead can you please mail me your contact number or call me
        Regards
        Munawar Khan
        Alfa Rayaan Steels pvt Ltd
        Email id [email protected]
        Mob 9845335075

        Reply
  9. Sanjeet says:

    Mobail crane op

    Reply
  10. Arun says:

    As part of Whitefield line demolition work for metro today, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Mahadevepura office compound wall is getting demolished. Already our office erected temporary structure.

    Reply
  11. Bhagabata Roul says:

    Hi sir I can supply all types of civil contractor and unskilled labours .

    Reply
  12. common man says:

    I am curious how the train will do two sharp turns on reach 1A and 1B.
    What is the envisaged turning radius at both these spots ?
    They would soon be added to the list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_railway_curve_radius.

    Reply

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