2 Bidders for Versova – Virar – Palghar Sea Link’s DPR Consultant Contract

Aarvee Associates and Nippon Koei are the only two firms that have bid for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) contract for Versova – Virar – Palghar Sea Link in Maharashtra after technical bids were opened today.

The scope of this access-controlled highway’s consultant contract by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) includes two components:

• Peer review of 43 km Versova – Virar Sea Link (VVSL) project’s existing DPR. Along with 6 lane connecting roads leading to the western suburbs, the entire project will be 79.11 km long.
• Preparation of a new DPR for extending VVSL to Palghar by approximately 21.8 km. A connection to Palghar town is estimated to be 7.3 km long.

MMRDA had invited tenders for this consultancy service in November 2023 with an unknown estimate and contract deadline.

MMRDA’s Brief Scope: Peer Review of VVSL DPR and Preparation of DPR for an Extension of VVSL from Virar upto Palghar

The bids have now been sent for technical bid evaluation which can take a couple months to complete. When that is done, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders will be opened to reveal who’s the lowest bidder and most likely consultant.

While Indian cities have a road deficit, admittedly this isn’t a project I’m a major proponent the money can better be used towards new mass transit lines.

Infrastructure planners typically route projects (highways, metros etc.) along path of least resistance and this is a good example of that. While cities elsewhere outside of India are ripping apart elevated corridors, we’ve got MMRDA implementing this hair brained project while all metro projects under MMRDA’s purview are crawling along due to a very relaxed procurement schedule.

To leave you with some figures and food for thought – VVSL project is estimated to cost Rs. 63,426 crore and its extension to Palghar would be another 25k – 35k crore. For comparison, the 82 km Delhi – Meerut RRTS project is estimated to cost Rs. 30,274 crore. Now think about the possibilities.

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– TMRG