Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: On Thursday, an agreement has been signed by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) with Larsen & Turbo for the country’s biggest infrastructure contract for design as well as the construction of 47 per cent alignment for India’s first high-speed rail corridor project connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The agreement signed with L&T also includes the development of four stations namely Billimora, Vapi, Surat and Bharuch, Surat Depot, a total of 42 road crossings, as many as 14 river crossings, as well as six railway crossings including a 350 metres long mountain tunnel, according to a PTI report.
NHSRCL said the contract has been signed for the design and construction of 237 kilometres long viaduct between Vapi (Zaroli Village at the border of Maharashtra-Gujarat) and Vadodara in Gujarat for 508 kilometres of Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor. The event was attended by the Ambassador of Japan to India, Satoshi Suzuki along with top officials of and NHSRCL and the Railway Board. On 23 September 2020, technical bids for this tender were opened and the financial bids were opened in less than one month after evaluation of the technical bids. The expected deadline for the works to complete is four years from the commencement date of the contract.
According to NHSRCL, during the construction phase of this high-speed corridor section, the nearby areas of the alignment will witness social as well as economic development. Also, there will be employment generation for skilled and semi-skilled workforce including professionals such as technicians, engineers, architects, designers, etc., as well as construction workers. Besides, the demand for construction material and machinery such as steel, cement, heavy construction machinery, trailers, cranes, etc., will get a boost. During the construction period, the ancillary industries like entertainment, tourism, hospitality, health, real estate, education and housing will also flourish, NHSRCL added.
