Land inside the Lalbagh Botanical Garden marked for the proposed tunnel road.
Credit: DH FILE
Bengaluru: The Adani Group has emerged as the lowest bidder for both packages of the 16.75-km tunnel road project, according to well-informed sources aware of the financial bids opened by the Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE).
The ports-to-power conglomerate’s bid is about 24% higher for the first package and 28% higher for the second than the government’s estimates — a gap that could prompt authorities to seek the state Cabinet’s approval on the tenders’ fate.
M Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), who is also the Managing Director of B-SMILE, declined to comment.
The government estimated the entire project to cost Rs 17,698 crore, while the Adani Group has quoted Rs 22,267 crore.
In all, four infrastructure companies had participated in the tenders for the project, which has been proposed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. While 40% of the funding will come from the government, the rest will be raised by the private concessionaire.
During the technical evaluation, the Adani Group and the Hyderabad-based Vishwa Samudra Engineering Ltd qualified for the financial round, the sources said.
The third bidder, Dilip Buildcon, faced disqualification due to a conflict with Clause 2.2.1 (G) of the tender, which bars entities with a record of collapse of a bridge, flyover or tunnel. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) fell out of the race as its joint venture (JV) partner did not meet the technical requirements, the sources added.
With only two firms left in the fray, the Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder with Vishwa Samudra coming second, a source privy to the development told DH.
The development marks a milestone for a project that has drawn political opposition and policy concerns.
Senior BJP leaders have opposed the project, especially its alignment that requires six acres of historic Lalbagh Botanical Garden.
The tunnel road, officially called the North-South underground corridor, is part of the Congress government’s ambitious plans to decongest Bengaluru by building two underground roads (totalling 40 km) and 13 flyovers and elevated corridors.
The project is the brainchild of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru development minister.
Mobility experts have warned that the tunnel road could undermine the metro’s Phase 3A project, whose alignment runs close to the tunnel corridor.