Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: Consortium of L&T, Japanese firm wins Rs 1,390 cr deal for 28 steel bridges

A contract for procurement and fabrication of steel bridges for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor has been given to a consortium of Larsen and Toubro and Japanese IHI Infrastructure Systems. The contract is worth Rs 1,390 crore and 28 bridges will be built under this. The bridges are proposed to be built over railway lines, highways, rivers, roads, and other structures, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited said.

According to an estimate, around 70,000 metric tons of steel will be used in making these bridges. The steel required for building these bridges will be provided by Indian steel manufactures and this will give a big boost to the industry and their allied supply chain.

“Indian steel industries will provide quality steel for the fabrication of super structures. The NHSRCL has already spoken to the industry players and briefed them about the requirement for India’s first bullet train project,” it said.

64 per cent of the civil contracts for the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Corridor have already been awarded by the NHSRCL. This includes a train depot at Surat, five HSR stations, and a mountain tunnel of 350 metre.

The total length of these 28 steel bridges will be around 4.5 km. Individually, the length of these bridges will be anything between 60 metre to 130 metre for the project.

Initially, the steel super structure project was given to Japan Lead (JV) companies as the structures needed to be built as per high-quality Japanese standards for high speed railway. But with the focus shifting to ‘Make in India,’ fabrication of steel structures is being done by Indian companies for all other projects. According to the statement, the NHSRCL is looking to open the bid to Indian companies as well.

A high-power committed was formed in March 2019 and comprised experts from both the Indian and Japanese sides. They included NHSRCL, India Experts, and JRTT and were tasked to open steel superstructure works to Indian companies by assessing the capabilities of these companies.

The committee was also tasked with the responsibility of making recommendations that can help these companies improve their fabrication quality and meet global standards.

The committee said that the fabrication of steel bridges can be achieved by Indian companies as they have all the required infrastructure. “It will not only reduce cost but also give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ aspect,” the statement said.