The government is keen on showcasing a functional bullet train by August 2022.Two consortium of Indian firms and another company are in the race to construct a portion of the first high-speed bullet train corridor in the country, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) – the agency looking after the construction of bullet train corridors in India – on Wednesday opened technical bids of the tender floated to award civil construction work for the project.
Sources in NHSRCL said Afcons Infrastructure Limited-IRCON International Limited-JMC Projects India Limited Consortium, NCC Limited-Tata Project Limited-J Kumar Infra Projects Limited-HSR Consortium and Larsen & Toubro Limited are in the race for the project.
Sources added that financial bids will be opened soon after the firms are scrutinised. The lowest bidder will have to construct four stations and a 237-km railway corridor in Gujarat.
The tender covers about 47 per cent of the total 508-km corridor. While stations will come up at Vapi, Billimora, Surat and Bharuch, 24 river and 30 road crossings will also be built. In Gujarat, over 83 per cent of the land needed for the project has been acquired.
NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Gaud said: “NHSRCL has floated other tenders as well for different works, which includes tunneling as well as building 27 steel bridges and the main line.”
The corridor, starting from BKC in Mumbai to Ahemdabad, was estimated to be completed by December 2023.
