Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC) and Tata ProjectsLtd. (TPL), operating as the HCC-TPL Indore Metro JV have emerged as the lowestbidder for the civil construction contract of the Indore Metro undergroundsection, announced the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MPMRCL),after evaluating the financial bids. The underground corridor spanning 8.626 kmwill connect a ramp east of Indore Railway Station to a ramp west of DeviAhilya Bai Holkar Airport.

The section will include twin tunnels and seven undergroundstations at Indore Railway Station, Rajwada, Chota Ganpati, Bada Ganpati,Ramchandra Nagar, BSF/Kalani Nagar, and the airport. This is the onlyunderground section in the 33.53 km Indore Metro Phase 1 project.

The MPMRCL initially invited bids for underground stationsand tunnels with an estimated cost of INR 2,550-crore and a four-year deadline.After evaluating six bidders, HCC secured the contract with a bid of INR 2,190.91-crore,14.08 per cent lower than the estimated cost.

The HCC is expected to receive the contract within thecoming weeks without any prolonged evaluation period. The project will befunded by a US$ 200-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), pendingADB board approval.

With this development, basic groundwork is expected to startin Q2 2025, followed by actual construction in Q3 2025, and tunnelling work nosooner than Q3 2026. As part of the contract, the HCC will deploy at least fourtunnel boring machines (TBMs) to construct 16 tunnels along this undergroundsection.

Firm       Bid Amount in INR

HCC–TPL Indore Metro JV:            2190.91

Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T):      2268.00

J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd. (JKIL): 2690.00

Gulermak AgirSanayi Insaat Ve Taahhut A.S.:       2832.06