Title - Monorail pre-EoI meeting on Monday

Selection of exclusive developer-contractor for the Rs.5,581-crore project

The pre-expression of interest (EoI) conference to select the exclusive developer-contractor for the Rs.5,581-crore elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode on a engineering-procurement-construction turnkey basis will be held on September 2.The pre-EoI is part of the global tenders floated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant for Kerala Mono Rail Corporation Ltd (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to execute the project in the two cities. Official sources told The Hindu that the pre-EOI would be held in New Delhi at 11 a.m. Initially, it was decided to hold it on August 29. The last date of submission of EoI is October 1 and it will be opened on the same day as per the schedule. Technical and financial bids would be invited only from those who have been pre-qualified through the global EoI. The two-stage tender process to be initiated after October includes Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP).

Two projects as one

Global tenders had been floated by treating the two monorail projects as one as only a 36.4-km stretch would be covered in the first phase in both the cities.

Firms specialising in MRTS from the U.K., Japan, Malaysia, Korea, and China have evinced interest in the EoI. Official sources said the tenders were being floated to select the companies to design, set up, operate, and maintain the project apart from mobilising funds either through supplier credit or bilateral funding.

In case KMCL opts for supplier credit, the firm that bags the global tender would need to mobilise funds for the project. But, criticism has come up against opting for supplier credit. Apart from the construction work, those selected would have to supply rolling stock, build-up signalling and telecommunication facility, and construct stations and depots in both the cities.

The land for the project in the two cities would be acquired by KMCL at its own cost and handed over to the concessionaire. DMRC Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan has prepared a schedule to complete the tender process in six months and to fix the contract in seven months. The 22.2-km monorail would be from Technocity to Karamana in the capital. In Kozhikode, the 14.2-km rail, with 15 stations, would be from the Government Medical College area to Meenchantha.