L&T bags Hyderabad Metro Rail project

HYDERABAD - Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged the Rs.12,132-crore Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project.

A three-member committee selected L&T out of six companies that bid for the mega project, which was initially awarded to Maytas Infra in 2008.

The authorities called for fresh global bids last year after scrapping the deal with Maytas, a sister-concern of scam-hit Satyam Computer Services, as it failed to achieve financial closure.

Eight consortia had qualified to file the financial bids. These include consortia led by Reliance Infrastructure, Lanco Infratech, GVK, GMR, L&T, Soma-Straburg, Transstroy and Essar groups.

GVK and GMR pulled out even before submitting the financial bids amid reports that the bidders were apprehensive of the financial viability of the project in the changed scenario.

The 71.6 km-long elevated metro rail project will be taken up in public private partnership on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.

The work on the project is likely to start by October and the entire project is expected to be completed in four years.

Maytas-led consortium had bagged the project in 2008. The government also forfeited Rs.71 crore deposited by the consortium as performance guarantee and as advance towards Rs.30,311 crore it promised to pay to the government over the concession period of 35 years.