APCO Wins Yewai – Kasheli Water Tunnel’s Contract in Mumbai

APCO Infratech last Friday was declared as the lowest bidder to construct a new water conveyance tunnel from Yewai Master Balancing Reservoir to Kasheli (Bhiwandi) by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Thane District, Maharashtra.

This 14.1 km long tunnel will supply water to the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, while the existing network of pipelines will be utilized as a back-up. TATA Consulting Engineers (TCE) has been engaged by BMC as the project’s design consultant.

The project’s 5.3m diameter tunnel will be built using at least two full face rock tunnel boring machines (TBMs). For comparison, the diameter of metro tunnels built in India by TBMs have so far ranged between 5.5m to 5.8m.

Per the tender documents, two extremely deep vertical shafts with a diameter of 14m will be built at Yewai (178m deep) and Tarali (157m deep) by drilling and controlled blasting method with reinforced concrete supporting arrangement such as circular well/secant piling etc.

Tunneling works will be carried out in 2 drives – shaft at Yewai (MBR) to Tarali shaft (of approx. length 6.95km) and from shaft at Tarali to Kasheli shaft (of approx. length 7.15km). The construction of Kasheli shaft is covered in a separate contract (details at bottom of my post).

BMC had invited bids for this package (Contract YKT) in February 2024 with an unknown estimate and 6 year construction deadline. Technical bids were opened in early May to reveal 2 bidders – APCO Infratech & Afcons Infrastructure, and both qualified through the technical evaluation round.

Financial Bid Values

FirmBid (Rs. Crore)
APCO Infratech3577.51
Afcons Infra3708.45

BMC’s Brief Scope: Design and construction of Tunnel from Yewai Master Balancing Reservoir to Kasheli Tal. Bhiwandi Dist. Thane

Location of Yewai, Tarali, Kasheli and Mulund Octroi Naka

BMC’s estimate remains unknown to me, so I can’t provide an assessment on the chances of a contract getting issued. I don’t actively track water projects as extensively as metro rail and expressways, but I’ll set a reminder to check with my contacts in a couple months from now to see what happened.

This tunnel is part of a larger water supply project, with another 7 km tunnel planned to connect Kasheli (Bhiwandi) and Mulund (Octroi Naka). That tender also received 2 bids – from APCO & Afcons – in early May, but has now been cancelled and retendered out.

For more updates, check out the Tunnels 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

2 Responses to "APCO Wins Yewai – Kasheli Water Tunnel’s Contract in Mumbai"

  1. Aryan says:

    1) any update on Bullet Train C2 TBMs?
    2) Any update on L7A breakthrough?
    3) L9 architectural finishing awarded for first 4 stations. Work started in all areas except Railway crossing. In remaining sections pilling started. Looks like by January/March 2025 Pilling, Pier, Pier Cap & Girder work will be finished.
    4) Line 2B Architectural Finishing Work & Roof work started between Diamond Garden to Mandale section. L2B work is picking up the speed

    Reply
    • TMRG says:

      Hi,
      1. Tunneling friend tells me TBM FAT might happen around Sept/Oct
      2. Nope, trying to gather current status
      3. Good to know!
      4. Good to know!

      🙂

      Reply

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