IPE Global Limited, which is in the reckoning to be chosen as the management consultancy of the city Corporation’s Smart City project, has agreed to reduce its consultancy fee, to be on par with the amount earlier quoted by Wadia Engineering Services Limited.
Wadia was dropped from the project after it was found to have been blacklisted by the Assam government. In the financial bidding, Wadia had quoted an amount of ₹27.16 crore, while IPE Global had quoted ₹27.77 crore.
After the Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) decided to drop Wadia, authorities have been in talks with IPE Global representatives to get them to reduce their quoted amount. According to Corporation officials, the company representatives have now agreed to reduce it to ₹27.16 crore, the amount quoted by Wadia.
Draft agreement sent
“The company has sent us the draft agreement. We will look into whether any changes are required for the same. A meeting of the Smart City SPV will be held soon, in which an understanding will be arrived at,” said a Corporation official.
Once the agreement is signed, the consultant will begin the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for each of the projects. The agency will also be entrusted with project management and supervision of the projects.
The DPR preparation will take 7–8 months for the bigger projects. The smaller projects which can be implemented immediately by the local body itself, without a project management consultant, will begin before that.
This include the project for the setting up of smart bus stops. The proposal is for 135 smart bus stops, with one each in each of the 100 wards and 35 more in the core area of the city. These bus stops will have WiFi facility, display boards, mobile charging ports, drinking water and toilet facilities.
Another plan is for the renovation of public toilets in the city. A total of 25 toilets have been identified for this. Drinking water kiosks are expected to be installed in various parts of the city. In addition, projects for waste management at source and e-governance also will be handled directly by the Corporation without the consultant.
