Ageneral slowdown witnessed in project tendering in August 2008 continued in September 2008. Slackness in tendering activities by the state owned agencies was the main reason for the overall slowdown in tendering activities. With monsoon season coming to an end in most parts of India, tendering activities are expected to gain momentum up in the coming months.

As against 3,571 project-tenders floated in August, 3,488 project-related tenders worth Rs.42,665 crore were floated in September 2008. Of these, 2,678 tenders worth Rs.32,380 crore were by state government agencies, 749 tenders worth Rs.10,081 crore were by Central government agencies and the balance 61 tenders were by private companies.

Thanks to a couple of high value tenders floated by the Government of Uttar Pradesh and National Highway Authority of India, the aggregate value of project tenders floated in September was 82 per cent higher when compared with the August statistics.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) has conceptualised an integrated urban rejuvenation plan to improve the quality and life ambience of major cities of Uttar Pradesh. To implement this plan, on 07 September 2008, GoUP invited global RfQs for development of infrastructure projects in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad and Varanasi cities with an estimated project cost worth Rs.12,565 crore.

Another notable tender was floated by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It invited global RfQs for the six-laning of Udaipur- Ahmedabad Section of NH-8 for 242.51 kms on BOT (Toll) basis, in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The project cost is estimated at Rs.2,545.02 crore. In all, NHAI floated 20 project related tenders worth Rs.5,673.42 crore in September 2008.

The month of September 2008 saw the tendering activities for the much delayed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project. MSRDC, on 09 September 2008, invited EoIs for design and construction of the project, on turnkey basis. Global bids were also invited for appointing consultants for project management consultancy services.

Among the major sectors, Roadways topped the list with 1,243 project related tenders worth Rs.18,713 crore. Community Services, Irrigation and Water Supply followed the sector-wise list with 418 tenders worth Rs.2,166 crore, 369 tenders worth Rs.1,262 crore and 305 tenders worth Rs.1,843 crore, respectively.

Shipping Infrastructure sector saw 34 project related tenders worth Rs.716 crore, being floated in September 2008. Mormugao Port Trust invited EoIs for setting up a national port terminal infrastructure on the Zuari Waterfront and/or land west of Cortalim Bridge and other water & land areas falling within the MPT Notified Limits. Another notable tender in the same sector was floated by Kandla Port Trust for developing port facilities at Vadinar near Jamnagar in Gujarat, on PPP model.

In the Thermal based Power sector, 90 project tenders worth Rs.814 crore were floated during September 2008. Karnataka Power Corporation, a Government of Karnataka enterprise, invited bids for preparing a DPR for establishment of 2x500 MW coal based thermal power project at Godhna in Chhattisgarh. Also noteworthy were the global tenders invited by Gidderbaha Power, a whollyowned company of the Punjab State Electricity Board, to select a developer for setting up a 4x660 MW coal based thermal power project, on BOO basis, at Gidderbaha in Muktsar, Punjab.

Among the states, Maharashtra topped the statewise list with 788 project tenders worth Rs.11,146 crore. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu followed the list with 342 tenders worth Rs.722 crore, 330 tenders worth Rs.2,570 crore and 252 tenders worth Rs.1,204 crore, respectively.

Private Sector

In the private sector, 61 tenders were floated during September 2008. They were mainly in the Power, Aluminium and Real Estate sectors. Some of the major tenders included:

Expressions of Interest (EoIs)

In September 2008, 87 EoIs related to Power, Shipping Infrastructure, Roadways and Textiles sectors were announced. Some major EoIs floated in the month were by:

Empanelment of Consultants / Contractors

During September 2008, around 19 notices were published inviting applications for empanelment of consultants and contractors. Some of the major notices were: