L&T Wins Mumbai’s Orange Gate – Marine Drive Tunnel Contract
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was today declared as the lowest bidder for the 4.46 km Orange Gate – Marine Drive tunnel project’s civil construction work in Mumbai after beating J Kumar Infraprojects – NCC JV when financial bids were opened.
This twin tunnel road project by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will feature twin tunnels built using 2 mega tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and cut and cover (C&C) methodology.
Each tunnel will consist of two 3.2m wide lanes each (plus an emergency lane) and have a design speed of 80 kmph. Their alignment will run primarily under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Road and connect Marine Drive at the southern terminal of Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project (MCRP) with Orange Gate near the southern terminal of Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway.
MMRDA had invited tenders for this project’s civil construction in January 2023, and again in June 2023, with an unknown estimate and completion deadline. The project’s total estimated cost is Rs. 6,500 crore. Technical bids were opened earlier this month to reveal 2 bidders.
Financial Bid Values
| Firm | Bid (Rs. crore) without tax |
| Larsen & Toubro | 6717.53 |
| J Kumar – NCC JV | 7414.94 |
MMRDA’s Brief Scope: Construction of underground road tunnel connectivity including approaches on Design Build basis between Orange gate, Eastern Free Way to Marine drive, Coastal road at Mumbai
MMRDA’s estimate for the civil construction component is unknown to me, so we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out. If awarded, we’ll likely see TBM Mavala (DZ636) from the Mumbai Coastal Road Project making a comeback. That CRCHI slurry machine had recorded its final breakthrough in May and has now been stored away.
This project’s tunnels will pass right below below Mumbai Metro Line-3 (Aqua Line)’s tunnels and aims to cut down the travel time from over an hour to just 10 minutes. They’ll be twice the length of Mumbai Coastal Road’s recently completed 2.07 km twin tunnels connecting Priyadarshini Park Ramp and Marine Drive.
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– TMRG
