Bids placed for underground line of Surat Metro

After the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) invited contenders to bid for the technical rights to construct two underground packages for the tunnel and station work, four major construction firms have presented six bids. The package consists of CS2 and CS3 of the Surat Metro Phase 1 project that stretches over an area of 40.35 km. These civil packages have twin tunnels that are in the middle of Chowk Bazar and Kapodra, which are at the center of the city. They run on the 21.61 km Line-1 of Sarthana (Dream City), and each has three cut and cover stations that have some Box Pushing as well as the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) for station connectivity. GMRC had made the invitation for both packages in July 2020, which had an estimation of Rs 929.46 and Rs 942.16 crore, respectively. They had also expected the contractor that won the bid to complete all of the civil work within 40 months after the contracts had been awarded and drawn up. The four firms which have placed bids for the contract are J Kumar Infraprojects Gulermak–Sam India Builtwell JV Larsen & Toubro Afcons Infrastructure The main scope for CS2 involves the construction, designing, and the completion of underground stations as well as the tunnels, which also involve finishes from Kapodra Ramp, chainage 3,700 m to Surat Railway station, chainage 7,160.6 m. It also comprises the underground twin bored tunnel between the northern ramp and the Surat Railway Metro station that has a coverage area that includes the three underground stations of Labheshwar Chowk, Kapodra, and the Central Warehouse. The metro will include the entries and exits of these stations as well as a connecting subway through the Box Pushing method. A portion of NATM, as well as initiating and receiving chambers of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the Surat Metro Rail Phase-I project, will also be added. The plan for the CS3 involves the designing, construction work, and the completion of the underground stations as well as the tunnels. It also includes finishes from Surat Railway station, chainage 7,160.6 m to Chowk Bazar Ramp, chainage 10,720 m. There will be a twin bored underground tunnel in the middle of the Surat Railway station and south ramp that will cover three underground stations of Maskati Hospital, Chowk bazaar, and Surat Railway Station. They will have entry and exit points as well as a connecting subway by the Box Pushing method along with a portion of NATM. There will also be an initiating and receiving chamber of TBM for the Surat Metro Rail Phase-I project. In addition to this, bids have been placed in September for the construction of the first section of Line-1, which is to be an 11.6 elevated area from Kadarsha Ni Nal to Sarthana and will have ten stations. There have been a total of six bidders that also included Larsen & Toubro and HCC.