Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures (MEIL) appeared to be on track to secure contracts worth Rs 14,000 crore to construct Mumbai's ambitious Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project.
After the financial bids were opened on April 25, the two companies were discovered to be the lowest bidders.
The state agency in charge of this project, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), issued a tender in January for two packages of civil construction work for the tunnel project, which aims to reduce travel time from Thane to Mumbai's western suburbs from 60 minutes to 15-20 minutes. This will also significantly reduce carbon emissions from vehicles travelling along that route.
Both engineering and construction firms submitted the lowest bids for the Thane-Borivali tunnel road project's two different packages. When the technical bids were opened earlier this month, L&T and MEIL were the only two bidders. "The lowest bidders are MEIL and L&T." However, the LoA (letter of award) has yet to be issued," according to one of the sources.
MMRDA typically has an approval process after identifying the lowest bidder, after which the project is officially awarded.
The project aims to construct two 10.8-kilometer-long road tunnels beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and approach roads on both ends, providing commuters with a shorter route and allowing them to avoid the congested route they currently use.
The government is eager to get started on the project before the monsoon season this year.
MEIL has bid Rs 7,464 crore for Package 1, which includes designing and building 5.75 kilometres of twin tunnel from the Borivali side. L&T, on the other hand, bid Rs 6,625 crore for Package 2, which includes the design and construction of 6.09 kilometres of twin tunnel from the Thane side.
The three-lane tunnels will connect Ekta Nagar, Magathane in Borivali, and Tikuji-Ni-Wadi in Manpada in Thane. The tunnel road will help to relieve traffic congestion on Thane's Ghodbunder Road.
While announcing the project in July 2021, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was the Urban Development Minister at the time, had said that extra care will be taken to avoid any impact to the biodiversity of the national park.
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