Phase-II of the Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transportation System (MMTS) is facing delay as one of the project executing agencies, which was appointed through tender in 2013, has approached the court for permission to rope in two more entities for the project.
The project is being developed by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore.
In October 2013, Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL), the entrusted authority for supervising the work, awarded the contract for the project to Balfour Beatty-Kalindee Rail Nirman joint venture after it emerged as the lowest bidder.
In December 2013, Balfour Beatty decided to close its operations in India and pulled out of the deal. In February 2014, Kalindee proposed that Tata Projects and GMR would fill in for Balfour Beatty. The company was given two months to come up with a joint proposal detailing the inclusion of the new consortium players.
RVNL did not accept Kalindee's proposal to rope in two entities as replacement for a single entity.
However, Kalindee maintained that the original tender issued by RVNL allows the consortium to have upto three players. When talks did not work out and the notice period issued by RVNL expired, Kalindee moved the Delhi High Court citing the three-player clause. It also appealed that the project warrants the presence of the two entities it has proposed.
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