Monorail: tender process soon

Pre-bid meeting will be held in September, says Ebrahim Kunju

Global tenders for the Rs.5,581-crore elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode will be floated this week.

The Expression of Interest and Pre-qualification document for inviting global tenders had earlier been handed over to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant, by Kerala Mono Rail Corporation Ltd (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute the monorail in the two cities. The DMRC will invite the tenders.

Nod granted

The KMCL board headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, which met here on June 24, had given the clearance for floating the global tenders.

The two-stage tender process to be taken up by the DMRC includes Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP).

Global tenders will be floated by treating the two monorail projects as one as only 36.4-km stretch would be covered in the first phase in both the cities.

Official sources said the tenders were being floated to select the companies for designing the monorail project and setting it up in the two cities, operation and maintenance for five years, and to mobilise funds.

Apart from the construction works for the monorail, those selected would have to supply rolling stock, build-up signalling and telecommunication facility and construct stations and depots in both the cities.

Minister for Public Works V. K. Ebrahim Kunju said the pre-bid meeting would be held in September. Already, a time schedule had been prepared by DMRC Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan to complete the tender process by six months and to fix the contract in seven months.

The 22.2-km Monorail has been mooted from Techno city to Karamana in the capital and 14.2 km with 15 stations starting from the Government Medical College hostel area to Meenchantha in Kozhikode.

The corporate office of the KMCL will be inaugurated by Mr. Chandy near the Raj Bhavan in the capital on July 2. The project office in Kozhikode will be inaugurated by Minister for Industries and IT P.K. Kunhalikutty at the Collectorate on July 6.