After a fourth attempt, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has finally received the three bidders it requires to proceed with the process of selecting a company to construct the Phase 1 of the Aqua Line extension from Noida to Greater Noida. There will be nine stations along the 14.95 km Aqua-Line corridor that runs from Noida Sector 51 to Knowledge Park V in Greater Noida. The project is expected to cost around Rs 2,294 crore. The first phase of the corridor covers 9.6 km and features five stations -- Sectors 122, 123, Greater Noida Sector 4, Ecotech 12 and Greater Noida Sector 2. The estimated cost is Rs 563.04 crore, with a deadline of 24 months from the date of approval. According to officials, the tenders for the first phase of the project were opened on June 30, and the three bidders are GR Infra Projects, Sam India Builtwell, and Ashoka Buildcon. Following the technical evaluation of the bids, NMRC will announce the final candidate in three weeks. Residents of Noida Extension and Crossings Republik should be able to use the service to connect to public transportation. In May 2020, the NMRC first issued a request for tenders, and three firms responded. One of them was not a building firm. The tender was cancelled in July as a result of this. Tenders were re-invited by the corporation in September 2020. It received bids from Sam India and GR Infra Projects in mid-November, but both were withdrawn by the end of the month. The third round was announced in December 2020 and then cancelled in February. The extension of the Aqua Line will begin in 2021. Work on the Greater Noida corridor from Sector 51 to Knowledge Park 5 will be completed first, followed by the construction of two other extensions. Image Source Also read: Mumbai Metro: MMMOCL floats tender for track maintenance of line 7, 2A Also read: Gurugram metro expansion work to begin within five months