Bengaluru: BEML lowest bidder for supplying 318 metro coaches

Bengaluru-based BEML Ltd, which is a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Defence, has emerged as the lowest bidder for supplying 318 coaches (rolling stock) to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL).

The bids were opened on Friday, paving the way for financial evaluation. In all, four bidders had participated in the tender that was called in September last year.

Multiple sources confirmed that BEML Ltd was the lowest bidder, but the prices quoted by four different firms, including Alstom Transport India, CAF and Titagarh Wagons, are not immediately known.

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BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parvez, confirmed the development but added that the contract will be awarded only after completing the remaining formalities, including financial evaluation of the company.

During the financial evaluation, the BMRCL is expected to assess BEML Ltd’s financial appetite to fulfill the order, which is likely to be around Rs 3,100 crore. The BMRCL, which opened the bids for technical evaluation in February this year, had not announced the total estimate for supplying 318 coaches that come with the communication-based train control (CBTC) technology.

Of the 318 coaches, 96 will be deployed on the Kalena Agrahara-Nagawara (21 km) metro line, which is targeted to be ready by December 2024. A set of 96 coaches will be used on the Central Silk Board-KR Pura (18 km) corridor and the remaining 126 coaches will be rolled on the KR Pura-Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) corridor. Both these lines are currently under construction.

According to BMRCL officials, the underground stretch of the Pink Line has achieved close to 85% of the total tunneling target.

The project of supplying 318 coaches along with facilities such as signalling and platform screen doors is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through a long-term loan.

So far, BEML has supplied over 1,500 metro coaches to various metro rail corporations across the country such as Delhi, Benglauru, Jaipur and Kolkata ever since it started manufacturing metro coaches in 2012. In February, 2019, BEML Ltd had bagged a Rs 400-crore order from Namma Metro for supplying 42 coaches.

To a question on the supply schedule of coaches by China-based CRRC Ltd, a senior BMRCL official said two coaches are expected to reach Bengaluru in the month of August. The firm had won the order of supplying 90 coaches at a cost of Rs 1,578 crore in 2020.