APCO Infra, NCC submit bids to concretise 212 SoBo roads

The civic body had awarded the contract for the first phase of concretisation of these 212 roads to Roadway Solutions India Infra Ltd (RSIIL) in January 2023. But the ₹1,687 crore contract was terminated on November 8, 2023, owing to inadequate progress in work, and RSIIL was fined ₹64.6 crore

Mumbai: Two firms have responded to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) tender to concretise 212 roads in the island city. Both APCO InfraProjects Ltd, which has experience in the construction of state and national highways, and NCC Ltd, which is currently engaged in road concretisation in the western suburbs, have submitted their bids, and the winning bidder is likely to be chosen within a week. The allocation of the work, however, will take place only after the model code of conduct is withdrawn, said officials.

Kalyan,India May 16.2020. The work of widening and concretisation of the 21 km Kalyan - Shilphata road is carried out in full swing as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has decided to use the lockdown period to carry out the work ,Photo of ongoing of work near main branch of DNS Bank Dombivli MIDC in Kalyan, India, on Saturday. May16.2020. (Photo by Rishikesh Choudhary/Hindustan Times)

The civic body had awarded the contract for the first phase of concretisation of these 212 roads to Roadway Solutions India Infra Ltd (RSIIL) in January 2023. But the ₹1,687 crore contract was terminated on November 8, 2023, owing to inadequate progress in work, and RSIIL was fined ₹64.6 crore.

Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects), said the retendering process began at least six months after the termination of the earlier contract. “It was difficult to get bidders for road concretisation in the island city this time because the earlier contract was terminated and there was a lot of apprehension,” he said. Another BMC official echoed Bangar, saying contractors were reluctant to bid for the fresh, ₹1,200-crore tender after the previous contract was terminated.

Among the two firms which responded to the tender, NCC is already engaged in road concretisation works in the western suburbs, while APCO InfraProjects has considerable experience in the construction of state and national highways. The bids submitted by the two firms are currently being scrutinised for technical feasibility, and the financial bids would be opened within a few days, said Bangar. “A decision on allocation of the tender will only be taken after the election code of conduct is over,” he stated.

On Monday, Bangar also conducted a meeting with all assistant engineers engaged in the first phase of road concretisation work. “We are trying to complete all the work by May 31 this year, so that nothing is pending for the monsoon,” he said.