The Hindu Business Line : Dedicated Freight Corridor: Short-listing of vendors begins

Even as Indian Railways tries to tie up finances for the dedicated freight corridor project, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has started initial work on the project that includes taking up certain segments to be built and short-listing vendors for those works. DFCCIL is a public sector body set up for implementation of the dedicated freight corridor.

The Railway Ministry plans to construct the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) covering about 2,762 route km on two corridors — Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Sonenagar-Dankuni, and Western Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai to Tughlakabad-Dadri, along with inter-linking of the two corridors at Khurja.

The project entails construction of mostly double-track railway lines, capable of handling 32.5-tonne axle load, longer trains and also double-stack containers.

RFQ FOR Rs 3000-cr PROJECT

Anticipating World Bank funding for about 300 kilometre (km) link on the Kanpur-Khurja section of the Eastern dedicated freight corridor, DFCCIL is likely to invite request for qualification (RFQ) for design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of double-track electrified rail lines with signalling and telecommunications systems and other related infrastructure.

The 300-km link concerned is Bhaupur-Mandrak, on the Kanpur-Khurja section. The project is valued at Rs 3,000 crore.

“We are likely to get World Bank funding for this (Bhaupur-Mandrak) project soon. As soon we get the go-ahead, we would invite request for qualification applications,” DFCCIL Managing Director, Mr V. K. Kaul told Business Line. Railways is trying to get the entire Rs 3,000 crore from World Bank.

Incidentally, DFCCIL had invited expressions of interest (EOI) for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the same project earlier, to which some 60 companies had responded.

“However, we will now issue an RFQ, that will be open for all companies including those firms that did not participate in the EOI,” Mr Kaul said.

Meanwhile, DFCCIL is also close to finalising the tender for another project, valued at Rs 558 crore, to be taken up on 105 km on Mughalsarai-Sone Nagar section in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “This work will be funded by Indian Railways,” Mr Kaul said.

The project entails design and construction of formation including blanketing, major bridges, minor bridges, rail over- and under-bridges, supply and spreading of ballast and other related infrastructural works. Five companies including Ircon, Gammon and Punj Lloyd are in race for this project.

BRIDGES TENDER

DFCCIL has also issued a tender for design and construction of 54 major bridges to be built on the Western Freight corridor between Vaitarna and Utran (approximately 200 km) on Vasai-Bharuch section in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The project cost is at an estimated Rs 419 crore, which will also be funded from the internal accruals of Railways. The project has to be completed in 30 months.

The Western corridor is estimated to have an expenditure of Rs 23,680 crore. The Railways expects to put in Rs 6,200 crore from internal accruals, Rs 1,250 crore from gross budgetary support, and raise Rs 16,230 crore as debt. The Railway Ministry is trying for Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) funding for this project.

JBIC has said it would consider funding only if the Western corridor being built on electric traction. JBIC further says it would “first consider” the loan only for the Rewari-Vadodara section of the corridor.

The Eastern corridor is estimated to cost Rs 19,613 crore. Of this, Rs 7,800 crore will be through internal generation, Rs 1,250 crore through gross budgetary support and Rs 10,563 crore will be raised as debt from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the ADB.

Related Stories:
Rlys hopes for bigger pie of goods traffic with dedicated corridor
Indo-Japan dialogue focuses on two infrastructure projects