Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has emerged as the lowest bidder for an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth Rs 3,589.7 mn from East Central Railway to construct a second rail line on a key stretch in Bihar. The award, disclosed in an exchange filing on July 20, covers doubling works intended to boost capacity on the Sitamarhi?Raxaul corridor and the contract value is stated to include 18 per cent GST.

The project encompasses doubling works on the Kundawa Chainpur (excluding) to Raxaul (excluding) section, spanning 41.04 km in the Samastipur Division. The scope comprises earthwork, blanketing, construction of minor and major bridges, station and other buildings, platform works, level crossing works and other miscellaneous civil items to meet 25 tonne (t) Indian Railway Standard Loading. These elements form part of standard rail doubling and associated infrastructure enhancement.

The assignment is to be executed under an engineering, procurement and construction model within 1,095 days. RVNL said the contract has been awarded by a domestic entity under the general conditions of contract and clarified that neither its promoters nor promoter group entities have any interest in the awarding entity, adding that the award does not qualify as a related?party transaction. The company also noted that it will act as project executing agency for select infrastructure initiatives under a memorandum of understanding signed earlier in July.

Shares of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd were trading marginally higher at Rs 226.46 after the filing, and the firm indicated the works should support operational throughput once doubling is complete. The stated execution period equates to about three years and the project is expected to enhance connectivity and capacity on the corridor without altering the company’s related?party status.