The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to complete reconstructing 11 of the 29 completely dilapidated bridges as soon as possible and will invite global tenders for the work. The contractor, once hired, will have to complete the bridge within three months, failing which he will have to forfeit his deposit.
The BMC has concluded that 29 completely dilapidated bridges in the city need to be reconstructed. Of these, eight have been demolished already while rest are yet to be pulled down. The process to appoint contractors for reconstruction of 18 of these is under way, but for the remaining 11, contractors have not been appointed.
Considering the urgency, the civic body will float global tenders for the work. Contractors can use the best technology and bring prefabricated bridges for installation on site. They can choose the design as well. But they will have to complete the process in three months and therefore, will charge the BMC much more compared to conventional projects, where a bridge takes about two years to be constructed.
At the time of the work being issued, the contractor will have to deposit 10% of the project cost with the BMC. The contractor will forfeit the deposit if he is unable to complete work in stipulated time. The BMC is hoping to float the tenders and award work by August. This means the first bridges can be constructed by December.
Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi said, “Right now, the nuisance value of keeping these bridges shut is even higher than paying higher cost to these bidders. We cannot wait two years considering the nuisance and the monetary loss it will cause to the city. Time is money in Mumbai. Only companies that can do this sort of work will bid.”
