Hyderabad-Based Megha Engineering Wins Rs 14,400 Crore Tender For Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel Project

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) has bagged two separate packages to build the ambitious Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project in Mumbai for a total bid of Rs 14,400 crore, as reported by Moneycontrol.

Earlier in December 2022, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had invited tenders for the civil construction work of the 11.84 km Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project in Mumbai under two packages with a four-year completion deadline.

Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and MEIL were the only two bidders when the technical bids were opened in April.

Based on the scrutiny of financial bids on 25 April:

• MEIL emerged as the lowest bidder at Rs 7,464 crore for the first package. The ‘Package 1’ entails designing and construction of 5.75 km from the Borivali side for the twin tunnel project.

• L&T was the lowest bidder at Rs 6,625 crore for ‘Package 2’ which which entails designing and construction of 6.09 km from the Thane side for the twin tunnel project.

However, L&T's bid was later disqualified because the company inadvertently stated the amount as the final bid without including the necessary tax component, as mandated by the tender requirements.

“We have awarded the letter of offer to MEIL after they emerged as the best bidder. L&T’s had challenged this in the High Court but that was rejected by the court,” said MMRDA Commissioner SVR Srinivas.

The MEIL bagged the contract for the second package with a bid of bid Rs 6,937 crore.

The Project

The Thane-Borivali tunnel project is part of the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project that envisages creating an east-west corridor for traffic movement, connecting Mulund in the eastern suburbs with Goregaon in the western suburbs.

The proposed project will have 10.8 km of twin tunnels and another km of approach roads on both ends (Thane and Borivali) combined. In all, a total of 23.68-km of new road construction, along with a tunnel.

The three-lane tunnels, which will connect Magathane's Ekta Nagar in Borivali and Tikuji-Ni-Wadi in Thane, will be built using four giant tunnel boring machines (TBMs) at a maximum depth of 23 m below the surface.

“The work may start after the monsoon. This project is important for the connectivity in the region,” Srinivas said.