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Tenders for mega bridge in Bihar cancelled, 5/7 bidders had Chinese partners
PATNA
PATNA
The construction of a four-lane bridge on Ganga, parallel to Mahatma Gandhi Setu which links north and south Bihar, is set to get delayed as the Union ministry of road transport and highway (MoRTH) has cancelled the tendering process, which was in final stages.
Bihar’s road construction department (RCD) minister Nand Kishore Yadav on Sunday said the tender was cancelled on technical reasons by the MoRTH on June 25. “The project has been re-tendered,” he said, without elaborating.
The MoRTH had sanctioned Rs 2,927-crore bridge project under the prime minister’s special package to Bihar. The mega project included building a 14.5-km-long approach road in Patna and Hajipur of Vaishali district.
Senior officials in the RCD said five out of seven firms, which qualified for final bidding, had Chinese partners. “This is the first mega project in the state to get cancelled as the contractors had joint ventures with Chinese firms,” they said, adding that the selected firms could qualify for fresh bidding if they changed their partners.
Officials said Ashok Buildcon, Dilip Buildcon and Tata Projects are among the five companies, which tied up with Chinese partners for technical and resource assistance. Afcons Infrastructure, Gammon India, L&T and SP Singla are the other construction firms in the race to win the contract.
Bidding documents of all the seven contenders were to be evaluated this month’s end. “The MoRTH has invited fresh bids for the project. The bids are open till July 30,” said principal secretary of RCD, Amrit Lal Meena.
Of the total length, a 5.63-km-long bridge is to be built on the river, while 8.87 km was to be covered with approach road from both sides.
Meanwhile, Bihar Congress president Madan Mohan Jha on Sunday lashed out at the Central government for allegedly receiving money from Chinese companies in PM Cares fund even as People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had been encroaching Indian land.
Talking to mediapersons in the wake of reports of Nepal deploying its army on the board across Bihar, Jha alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept on misleading the nation about Chinese aggression.
