L&T secures Rs 24,985 crore Civil Contract to build India’s first High-Speed Rail Corridor

New Delhi, India (Urban Transport News): Indian major infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) on 28th October 2020 announced that it has received a high value civil work order worth Rs 24,985 crore for building 237.1 km section of Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor under Package C4.

"The construction arm of L&T has secured a Mega order for its Heavy Civil Infrastructure business in India from the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHRCL). This is the biggest EPC contract awarded in the country to date and is the first of its kind project with a mandate to construct the 237.1 km stretch MAHSR - C4 package which is part of the Mumbai Ahmedabad HighSpeed Rail Project," said the official release.

The scope for the MAHSR - C4 package includes the construction of viaducts, stations, major river bridges, depots, and other auxiliary works. The approximately 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, also called the MAHSR Bullet Train project, will cover 155.76 km in the State of Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in the State of Gujarat with 12 stations along the route. Upon completion, the High-Speed Rail will operate at a speed of 320 Kmph, covering the entire distance in approximately 2 hours with limited stops and in 3 hours with all stops.

Commenting on the achievement CEO and Managing Director, S N Subrahmanyan said:

At a time of grave uncertainty during the time of the pandemic, the award of such a huge infrastructure order augurs very well not just for the construction industry but for the entire infrastructure sector as well. It is a major and very bold decision by the Government of India, Ministry of Railways, Indian Railway Board and NHRCL. We believe it will be an inflection point in the resurrection of India’s infrastructure economy by not only creating jobs but also encouraging several other industries, MSMEs, SMEs to be a part of this mega project to provide the necessary services and facilities under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It will hugely boost other similar projects to connect other major economic centres in the country to enable business, cut travel time and be a game-changer from the perspective of an economic revival and activity. It is certainly a testimony to the capabilities of Larsen and Toubro to build such mega infrastructure projects. Once again, L&T is proud to be associated with a project of significant national importance with yet another opportunity to live up to being builders to the nation.

“This is by far the largest EPC order that L&T has won in its history and to execute such a huge and complex infrastructure project, we will deploy state-of-the-art construction methods and extensive digital technologies,” said S V Desai, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Civil Infrastructure).

Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) had quoted Rs 24,985.164 crore against the estimate of work Rs 20,000 crore by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) and emerged as the lowest bidder among the other two bidders viz. Tata Projects – J Kumar Infraprojects – NCC Limited JV and Afcons Infrastructure – Ircon International – JMC Projects India Ltd. JV who had quoted Rs 28,228.392 crore and Rs 36,874.706 crore respectively.

Package C4 represents 46.6% of the total length making it longest amongst all the packages, running elevated from Zaroli Village on the Maharashtra – Gujarat border to Vadodara Station through 4 stations at Vapi, Bilimora, Surat and Bharuch in Gujarat.

For more details, please explore the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail page of Urban Transport News.