Almost a week has passed since the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) cancelled the tenders for the Pandit Nehru Bus Station–Nidamanur corridor of the Vijayawada metro railway and it is yet to issue a fresh Notification Inviting Tenders (NIT) while the factors that led to the temporary setback are being still examined by the Amaravati Metro Corporation Limited (AMRC).
A senior official of the Vijayawada Metro said: “DMRC may take its own time to re-invite tenders, having cancelled them twice earlier purportedly due to the high prices quoted by the prospective bidders.”
DMRC has also reportedly expressed its doubts on the process of land acquisition for elevated stations in both corridors (PNBS-Nidamanur and PNBS-Penamalur) and a coach depot proposed to be built at Nidamanur. The delay in acquiring land is considered a major impediment to the prestigious project.
The DMRC had invited bids for part design and construction of an elevated viaduct, depot connection and 12 elevated stations at the railway station south, railway station east, Besant Road, Seetharampuram signal, Machavaram down, Padavalarevu, Gunadala, Ramavarappadu ring, Prasadampadu, MBT Centre, Enikepadu and Nidamanuru.
Time extended
Meanwhile, the DMRC has made certain changes in the tender schedule it had issued in March 2017 for design, manufacture, supply, testing and commissioning and maintenance of 54 standard gauge cars for the Vijayawada metro rail.
The approximate cost of the work was pegged at ₹7,220 crore. The last date for submitting the tenders has been extended from June 2 to July 14.
AMRC Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy told The Hindu that the Government of India was revising certain conditions related to the supply of cars (coaches) for metro railways, which necessitated the provision of more time to the interested parties to come up with their proposals.
It (AMRC) could not go ahead with the existing schedule as it might be asked to cancel the tenders which would be essentially at variance with the changed norms, he observed.
The procurement of cars is likely to be funded by the French public finance institution AFD (Agence Francaise de Developpement) as per a formal understanding reached with the AMRC.
