Green signal to 5 monorail bidders

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The ambitious monorail project has successfully crossed the critical bidding stage with the government finalising five project developers for the second and final stage, while rejecting three firms’ bids at the opening phase, after a high-level discussion on Friday.

“Of the eight consortia of firms that had participated in the initial stage of bidding process (request for qualification), three firms, including Met-rail, M-rail, have been disqualified, while five other firms, including Scomi International private limited, Hitachi and Bombardier, and L&T, and Gammon and IL&FS have qualified for the final stage - request for proposals,” informed sources in the secretariat told DC.

Malaysia-based Scomi International is a consortium partner in the Mumbai monorail project, which had recently tested the system successfully.

The project promoters for the next stage were finalised after a meeting of the empowered committee headed by chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi and secretaries of a few other departments Friday.

The preliminary discussion was held earlier this month after the Hyderabad-based consultant submitted its recommendations.

The three-hour meeting was also said to have discussed a few reservations expressed by the bidders about the alleged delay in finalising the stations. “They felt that it would be tough for them to participate in the financial bid,” sources said.

However, Tambaram, Velachery and Vadapalani stations are expected to get monorail depots, where the monorails could be berthed and maintained, and inter-modal transport integration facility would be created at St Thomas Mount with MRTS and metro rail.

TheRs8,500 crore project is to be implemented under DBFOT basis. In the initial stage, it would be taken up at three corridors – Vandalur to Velachery; Poonamallee to Kathipara junction; and Poonamallee to Vadapalani.