BMC nod for Rs 113-cr road contracts for western suburbs

The infrastructure firm shortlisted to carry out tender work, Relcon Infraprojects, has bid Rs 94.06 crore.

The BMC standing committee on Wednesday approved a Rs 112.8-crore tender proposal to resurface nine major roads with cement and concrete in the northern zone of Mumbai’s western suburbs. The work order, for roads from Jogeshwari to Dahisar, is expected to be issued by March-end, leaving barely three months to carry out resurfacing work, before the monsoon arrives in the city.

The infrastructure firm shortlisted to carry out tender work, Relcon Infraprojects, has bid Rs 94.06 crore, 19 per cent below the civic body’s cost estimate of Rs 116.11 crore for the contract. Though the corporation opened the financial packet of the tender on January 10, certain “technical reasons” caused a delay in finalising the contract, said officials from the civic roads department.

Initially, the corporation had settled on contractor RPS Infraprojects for the tender, as the company had bid the lowest at 18.99 per cent. However, at a meeting of the tender on January 17, it was found that the company, which has also been awarded the contract for resurfacing Marine Drive at Rs 97 crore – 14.22 per cent more than the estimated cost for the work – had bid more than its capacity as per the limits set by the corporation.

The civic body had to then engage in negotiations with the second lowest bidder for the contract, Relcon Infraprojects, which had earlier bid 4 per cent higher than RPS Infraprojects.

Relcon Infraproject’s bid was later bargained down to 19 per cent lower than the estimated cost by the tender committee. The tender proposal was passed on Wednesday without much opposition.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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