German firm’s deadline extension plea turned down

The next batch of suburban rakes may not be similar to the recently introduced modern 12-coach Electro Multiple Unit (EMUs) trains supplied by Siemens Ltd.

The next batch of suburban rakes may not be similar to the recently introduced modern 12-coach Electro Multiple Unit (EMUs) trains supplied by Siemens Ltd.

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The Indian subsidiary of Siemens AG, Germany, which has almost lost its chance to participate in the bidding process for supplying 72 additional 12-coach EMUs, on Monday, failed to secure any relief from the Bombay High Court.

The company, which bagged an earlier contract for supplying 131 new 12-coach EMUs (and has already supplied 110 new rakes), moved the high court on Monday seeking a deadline extension for purchasing bid documents for supplying the additional 72 rakes.

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a special purpose vehicle created for the implementation of the rail component of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project, had set December 6 as the deadline for purchasing bid documents and December 7 as the last date for submitting bids.

Siemens Ltd. sought the extension beyond January 1, since Siemens AG -while settling a fraud purportedly committed by its Russian subsidiary with the World Bank - had imposed a two-year self-restriction. The restriction meant neither the engineering giant nor any of its subsidiaries across the globe could participate in a World Bank project till January 1, 2011.

The court, however, refused to hear the matter further and directed the company to approach the division bench presided over by Chief Justice Mohit Shah, which is likely to hear the matter on Tuesday. But by then the deadline will pass.