RITES-SMEC JV signs General Consultancy contract for Haryana Orbit Rail Corridor

Image Credit: Andrew McKune, Executive Director, SMEC

Gurgaon, India (Urban Transport News): A joint venture of RITES Limited and SMEC has signed a contract worth Rs 72 crores with Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC) on 31st March 2021 for providing General Consultancy Services for 121.74 km Haryana Orbit Rail Corridor (HORC) from Palwal to Sonipat.

"It was a pleasure to witness the signing ceremony for the prestigious General Consultancy Services for Haryana Orbit Rail Corridor (HORC) from Palwal to Sonipat vis Sohna, Manesar, and Kharkhoda," said Andrew McKune, SMEC’s Executive Director in India, adding "RITES in Joint Venture with SMEC will be responsible for overseeing project delivery. We are excited to be involved in the project and look forward to the positive impact it will have on both commuter and freight rail in the Haryana/Delhi/NCR region".

The contract was signed by Piyush Kansal, Executive Director, Urban Infrastructure at RITES Ltd (on behalf of RITES-SMEC JV) and Narinder D. Chumber, Director, Project & Planning at HRIDC in the presence of Dinesh Chandra Deshwal, IRSEE, Managing Director, HRIDC; Rajiv Mehrotra, Chairman & Managing Director, RITES Ltd; VG Suresh Kumar, Director, Projects, RITES Ltd and Andrew McKune, Executive Director, SMEC.

The RITES-SMEC Joint Venture emerged as the lowest bidder in February this year after beating four other major consultancy firms viz. AECOM Asia, Ayesa India, Systra MVA and Tecnica y Proyectos. The JV has quoted Rs 60.98 crores to win the contract.

The scope of work includes General Consultancy Services for Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna, Manesar, and Kharkhoda in the State of Haryana. The objective of the consulting services is to provide General Consultancy Services for the successful planning, basic & detailed designs, preparation of specifications, preparation of proposal documents and tender assistance, checking designs, project management and supervision including construction supervision, safety, quality and environmental management, interface management, testing and commissioning of the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) Project. The planning shall include the O&M phase as well.

The bidders have been selected according to Quality-Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method through a combination of points scored in the technical bid and financial bid evaluation. Now the bids have been sent for final evaluation and everything found Okay, HRIDC will issue the letter of acceptance (LoA) to RITES Limited for commencing the work.

The Haryana Orbital Rail Project was approved by the Central Government in September last year. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 5,617 crores. The 144 km long corridor will connect Palwal to Sonipat through 17 stations. This project is being financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and shall be completed in 5 years. AIIB will provide financial assistance of US$ 400 million for the development of this project through a soft loan.

"The project would help decongest Delhi by diverting goods and passengers trains not originated/destined for Delhi. It would also be beneficial to industrial and logistics hubs of Kharkhoda, Manesar and Sohna and would help develop additional hubs in the region," said the official statement issued by RITES Ltd.

For more details, please explore the "Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor" page of Urban Transport News.