Adani, Tata among major firms eyeing Bengaluru’s ambitious tunnel road project
Bengaluru: Ten of India’s top construction firms, including industry giants Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd, and Tata Projects, have expressed interest in building a 16.75-km tunnel road that aims to connect Central Silk Board with Hebbal in Bengaluru.
Representatives from these companies attended a pre-bid meeting recently convened by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE) at its Vasanthnagar headquarters, as reported by Deccan Herald on Tuesday. The newly constituted government body had floated tenders nearly 20 days ago for the design and construction of the three-lane underground twin-tunnel corridor.
Other notable companies present at the meeting included Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd, ITD Cementation India, Vishwa Samudra Engineering Ltd, Jayashankar, Ceigall India Ltd, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, and IRB Infrastructure.
The ambitious project is proposed under a revised Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. As per this plan, the companies are also expected to invest 60% of the project cost (Rs 10,619 crore), besides depositing Rs 44 crore at the time of submitting the bids. In return, the government will provide toll collection rights for 30 years, added the report.
BS Prahallad, Technical Director at B-SMILE, expressed satisfaction over the response and mentioned that top construction companies had sent their representatives to the meeting. "Some have requested us to extend the last date for bid submission given the complexity of the project. They also raised queries about land allocation for debris disposal and the casting yard. We are confident that many will participate in the final bidding,” DH quoted him as saying.
The proposed tunnel project will involve the deployment of eight Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), each expected to drill approximately 2 km annually. The three-lane underground twin tunnel road—which will have a total tunneling length of 33.49 km— has reportedly come under environment, feasibility and technical scrutiny from various stakeholders.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
