Scomi consortium believed to have won India rail job

Friday August 15, 2008
Scomi consortium believed to have won India rail job
The Star
NEW DELHI: A consortium comprising Scomi Engineering Bhd and co-partner Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) is believed to be the successful bidder for the first monorail project in Mumbai costing RM1.01bil.

The other bidder was Reliance Infrastructure, which had partnered Japan’s Hitachi, to build the 20km elevated monorail in India’s financial capital.

The Times of India reported Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad as saying the main deciding factor was the timeframe to complete the project.

“The bid submitted by L&T and Scomi was more sound and promising than the one submitted by Anil’s Reliance Infrastructure and Hitachi of Japan,” Gaikwad said.
He said L&T and Scomi promised to complete the project within 24 months while Reliance Infrastructure, headed by Indian business tycoon Anil Ambani, needed more than 50 months for the first phase of the project.
People familiar with the project told Bernama in Mumbai that Scomi and L&T were fine-tuning the pricing details and the final announcement could come soon.
Seven companies had initially submitted bids for the project, which would be implemented on a built, operate and transfer basis and expected to come onstream within two years. MMRDA shortlisted the bidders to two,
The metro lines will complement the present railways and help ease traffic in the city, where nearly 11 million people use public transport daily. — Bernama