The civic body has incorporated certain changes in the tender conditions for the Rs 630-crore project, such as allowing the contractor to dump residual waste at a recently-acquired plot in Taloja after a payment. (File photo)
After failing to get responses from contractors for the planned waste-to-energy plant at the Mulund dumping ground, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation floated tender for the third time earlier this week. The civic body has incorporated certain changes in the tender conditions for the Rs 630-crore project, such as allowing the contractor to dump residual waste at a recently-acquired plot in Taloja after a payment. This option can generate revenue for the BMC. The project is aimed at the closure of the city’s second largest dumping ground.
“The contractors will need to find land where they can dump the rejected material. While it can be dumped at quarries in Navi Mumbai, we have also made another option available for a price,” said a civic official. He added: “Of the 38-hectare plot that was recently acquired by the BMC at Taloja, we have set aside 10 hectares of land where contractors can dump the reject material at a cost of Rs 1,000 per square metre.”
While the contractor has the option of dumping the material elsewhere, their proposal will have to mention the location.
“They will have to give proof. While their trucks will be GPS-enabled, the contractor will also have to abide by the norms of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board,” said the official. He added that, after the plant is constructed over a period of five years, they expect 70 lakh tonne of solid waste to be processed and around 14 lakh tonne reject material to be generated. The civic body had floated the tender twice last year.
While only one contractor bid the first time, three of the bidders didn’t qualify in the second time. “While previous norms had only mentioned open technology, in this tender, we have defined the methodology of the project, which will include five major components. The bidders will now have to submit a proposal keeping these components in mind,” said the official.
Officials added that most of the contractors were unwilling to participate under a joint venture. “Many foreign firms did not want to take up the project with another contractor as a partner. We have now removed the mandatory aspect of being in a joint venture. They can form free tender agreements for each of the five components.”
The pre-bid meeting for this project will be held on August 23. After the bidders have submitted their individual projects, Mitcon, the consultant hired for Rs 5.5 crore, will analyse them.
