UMTC bags contract to prepare DPR of Visakhapatnam Metro project

Visakhapatnam, India (Urban Transport News): Gurugram based consultancy firm Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) emerged as the lowest bidder for preparing revised detailed project report (DPR) for the 33.5-km long metro rail network in Visakhapatnam city. Total of three firms viz. RITES Limited, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and UMTC have submitted their proposals to Amrawati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) against the RfP for preparation of DPR for the project.

UMTC declared the lowest bidder by quoting a price of Rs 5.33 crore. The Andhra Pradesh government has directed AMRC to sign a contract agreement with AMRC and appoint the firm as a DPR consultant for the Vizag Metro Rail project. The UMTC has to submit revised DPR to AMRC withing 6 months from the date of issuance of the letter of acceptance (LoA).

Apart from preparing DPR for the project, UMTC will be given the responsibility to provide transaction advisory services for the bidding process management for the project, which will be taken up in a public-private partnership (PPP) model and selection of a developer on a success fee basis. NP Ramakrishna Reddy, Managing Director, AMRC said:

We will initiate simultaneous bidding process for the metro rail project in the fourth month after the start of the preparation of the DPR. The bidder for the second phase project (60-km) will be finalised by the end of this month. We have received two bids for the preparation of the DPR for the first phase project.

The state government has revised the length of the first phase of the Visakhapatnam Metro rail project from 42.5 km to nearly 80 km following its decision of extending the highway corridor to Bhogapuram International Airport.

According to the revised transportation development plan, another side of the highway corridor will also be extended up to Steel Plant Junction after canceling the earlier plan of ending it at Gajuwaka. In the second phase of the MRTS plan, the government has also planned to include a trackless tram system in the 60-km urban mobility project. The tram corridors will include NAD Junction-Pendurthi, Steel Plant-Anakapalli, Old Post Office-Rushikonda beach, Rushikonda beach-Bheemili.