National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has signed a deal with Infrastructure Conglomerate Larsen & Turbo (L&T) for the country’s biggest infrastructure contract for design as well as the construction. The contract involves designing and constructing the 237 km long viaduct between Vapi (Zaroli village at Maharashtra-Gujarat border) and Vadodara (Gujarat) also a significant 47% of the high-speed rail alignment, which includes the construction of four stations and a depot.
“The NHSRCL signed a contract agreement with Larsen & Toubro Limited today for the design and construction of 237 km length of the viaduct between Vapi (Zaroli Village at Maharashtra- Gujarat Border) and Vadodara in the state of Gujarat for 508 km of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor,” the statement from the company said.
The event was attended by the Ambassador of Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki along with top officials of and NHSRCL and the Railway Board. On 23 September 2020, technical bids for this tender were opened and the financial bids were opened in less than one month after evaluation of the technical bids. The expected deadline for the works to complete is four years from the commencement date of the contract. The organization further issued the letter of acceptance (LoA) to L&T for the contract.
On 26th November, Ambassador Suzuki attended the Contract Agreement Signing Ceremony for the longest civil work package…
Posted by Embassy of Japan in India on Thursday, November 26, 2020
As part of this contract, the work involves 14 river crossings, six railway crossings including one mountain tunnel of 350 metres, 42 road crossings as well as the construction of four stations Billimora, Vapi, Bharuch, and Surat. The 508 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The rolling stock of the bullet train is being developed on the lines of Japanese E5 Shinkansen technology.
NHSRCL said that, during the construction phase of this high-speed corridor section, the nearby areas of the alignment will witness social as well as economic development. Also, there will be employment generation for the skilled and semi-skilled workforce including professionals such as technicians, engineers, architects, designers, etc., as well as construction workers.
Besides, the demand for construction material and machinery such as steel, cement, heavy construction machinery, trailers, cranes, etc., will get a boost. During the construction period, the ancillary industries like entertainment, tourism, hospitality, health, real estate, education and housing will also flourish, NHSRCL added.
The Sabarmati Terminal will be the only bullet train station that will boast of a multimodal transit hub for passengers, giving seamless connectivity to bus transit points, Indian Railways, and the metro station.
