First tunnel contracts open for Surat metro
13 July 2020GMRC (Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation) of India has invited bids for two packages of work covering underground sections of the 21.5km-long Line 1 of the Surat Metro Rail Project.
The closing date for submitting bids is 14 September 2020 and both packages are expected to have a 40-month construction period. When finished, the US$1.6bn Surat metro will comprise two lines and 36 stations.
Package 1 (UG-01/ CS2 – estimated tender value US$124m) is the 3.46km stretch of line between Kapodra Ramp to Surat station which will see a variety of construction techniques used. This will include twin-tube TBM-bored main tunnels plus sections requiring NATM, cut-and-cover and box jacking. Three new underground stations will also be required along this section of line.
Package 2 (UG-02/CS3 – estimated tender value US$125m) covers the 3.5km section from Surat station to Chowk Bazar. This will involve twin-tube TBM-bored tunnels, a cut-and-cover section, three underground stations and a stretch using NATM.
With a population of 4.5m, Surat is the second largest city in the state of Gujarat and lies 290km north of Mumbai on India’s west coast. The Economic Times of India predicted that between 2019 to 2035, Surat will be the world’s fastest growing city.
