As many as 16 international firms, in a JV with Indian companies, have qualified in a pre-qualification bid process for a civil work contract for Bhaupur-Mughalsarai section of the eastern dedicated freight corridor project.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India, a developer of the eastern dedicated freight corridor project, invited bids in April 2013 for Bhaupur-Mughalsarai section.

Bids have been invited for contract Packages 201 and 202, for providing civil work and track work (Tender) on design-build lumpsum basis for Mughalsarai-New Bhaupur section, with approximately 402 km length, of the eastern dedicated freight corridor in Uttar Pradesh.

Some of the pre-qualified bids are Isolux Corsan Corviam-Sadbhav-ECI; Gammon-Yuksel; Posco-PNC; Consortium of China Railway Bureau Group Corporation; Essar-KEC Sacyr; AG-Afcon; and PEL-BSCPL-CGS.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has agreed to provide a loan of $2.725 billion (approx Rs 16,927.7 crore) to part finance the eastern corridor project from Mughalsarai to Ludhiana, which has been divided into three phases. The loan for Phase-I, to the tune of $975 million (approx Rs 6,071.32 crore) was sanctioned in May 2011 and the loan agreement was signed in October 2011. The loan for Phase-II is expected to be of the order of $1,100 million (approx Rs 6,849.7 crore) and is expected to be signed in June 2014.

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