In yet another move that could delay the work on Gurugram Metro project, the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC), the agency developing the Gurugram Metro has reinvited bids to appoint a design consultant for the project after the previous bid received a poor response.
Gurugram, India- February 24, 2023: Huda city center metro station is the last station of the Gurugram at sector-29, A metro extension project will start from Huda centre to Cyber Hub in a loop. It will be 28 .5 kms, in Gurugram, India, on Friday, 24 February 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)(Pic to go with Abhishek Behl’s story)
In the first bid initiated in 2021-22, only one company had applied for the contract and this tender was subsequently scrapped, said officials.
The Gurugram Metro project has been stuck for the past five years due to repeated changes in detailed project reports. As a result, not even a single kilometre has been added to the Gurugram Metro infrastructure after 2013, when the Rapid Metro became operational.
Presently, the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro connects Delhi with Gurugram up to Huda City Centre station. The Rapid Metro line connects Cyber City with Sector 55 and Sector 56 along the Golf Course Road. There is a strong demand from the city residents since long for the extension of the Metro line to Old Gurugram and other parts of the city.
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his budget speech in February had said that work on the Gurugram Metro is likely to start this year, and that the project was waiting to get a final nod from Union government.
The proposed 28.5km Metro project will have 27 elevated Metro stations and it will have a spur from Basai to Dwarka Expressway. The cost of the entire Metro project is estimated to cost ₹6,400 crore.
The length of the line from Huda City Centre to CyberHub, while passing through Subash Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, and Palam Vihar will be 26.65 km while the spur from Basai village to Dwarka Expressway will be 1.85 km long, as per the tender document.
HMRTC, when asked about the development on Friday, confirmed that a fresh tender has been invited to engage a detailed design consultant for the elevated Metro project from Huda City Centre Metro station to Old Gurugram, Palam Vihar and back to CyberHub in a loop.
Karan Singh, director, (operations and business development), HMRTC, when asked whether fresh bids have been invited to appoint a detailed design consultant replied in a brief, “Yes”.
A senior industry professional, who worked with the National Highways Authority of India and Delhi Metro in design consultancy, said the HMRTC had not given enough time to the consultants and companies to bid for the project last time.
“These are large projects, and very complicated. It takes time to get approvals in large companies and this is the reason that the previous bid was not successful. This time, it is likely to get more bidders,” he said, on the condition of anonymity.
As per the fresh tender document, the bid has been invited by HMRTC for the consultancy project estimated at ₹17.68 crore and work shall continue for a period of 48 months.
The detailed design consultant will carry out conceptual layout planning of 27 elevated stations and also provide detailed structural design of viaduct and special span. The consultant will also design and plan foot overbridges, culverts, and layout plan for stations.
The consultant will also design stations and ancillary buildings, hierarchies of public and private spaces, integration of existing and proposed property developments. It shall prepare design solution for public and private transport solutions and property developments at Metro stations, the tender document said.
As per the timelines of this bid, the tender was issued on March 16, and the pre-bid meeting is scheduled on March 28. The last date for submission of bids is April 17, and the bids will be opened on April 17, as per the information shared by HMRTC.
As per the detailed project report prepared by RITES for this project, the Metro stations which have been proposed on the Huda City Centre-Cyber City route are Sector 45, Cyber Park, Sector 46, Sector 47, Sector 48, Technology Park, Udyog Vihar Phase 6, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai, Sector 9, Sector 7, Sector 4, Sector 5, Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, Krishna Chowk, Palam Vihar Extension, Palam Vihar, Sector 23 A, Sector 22, Udyog Vihar Phase 4 and 5.
It is to be noted that the Metro extension project to Old Gurugram has remained stuck for almost five years as the Haryana government could not finalise the route and detailed project report till 2019. The government commissioned multiple surveys to find a viable route and it was only in 2019 that one was finalised.
The local residents have been critical of the government and project agencies for the long delays in the Metro project even as similar projects in Noida and Ghaziabad have witnessed significant progress.
The project is also likely to have an interchange with the Yellow Line of Delhi Metro, and Rapid Metro. It will also connect with the 106km rapid rail line in Udyog Vihar.
Prof Sewa Ram, a transportation expert from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, said the Gurugram Metro project was important as it has the capacity to reduce congestion on major roads connecting Gurugram and Delhi. “It is important that timelines are fixed for the project and HMRTC breaks the ground at the earliest as it needs time to design and execute such a large infrastructure project,” he said.
