" Tata emerges as lowest bidder for tender to construct New Parliament Complex "

 

Tata Projects Limited emerged as the lower of the two bidders for the tender to construct the new Parliament complex by quoting a bid of 861.90 crore when the financial bids for the project opened on Wednesday.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited, which was the other bidder, quoted 865 crore for the project, according to the bid documents. According to the Central Public Works Department’s (CPWD) tender, the estimated cost of construction for the new building is 889 crore.

The two Mumbai-based construction companies submitted their financial bids after qualifying in the technical round for the tender.

Tata Projects has emerged as the lowest bidder and is likely to bag the contract, a spokesperson for Tata Projects said.

A spokesperson for L&T did not wish to comment.

Three bidders qualified in the technical round but only two firms ended up submitting their financial bids.

“Only three parties technically prequalified in the first round and only two have quoted their bids today. The firm that wins the contract will be issued a letter of award within a few days,” a senior government official said requesting anonymity.

“We have to go through the due process of evaluation of the bids thoroughly and award a letter of contract only after that,” the second official said.

The contract is likely to be awarded to the lowest bidder, the first official added.

To be clear, in infrastructure projects, the firm is finalised only after it receives a letter of award which is a written confirmation that a tenderer has been successful and will be awarded a contract. It contains details of the amount of the award, the date of the award, and when the contract will be signed.

The government had narrowed the list of choices for building a new Parliament complex to three Mumbai-based construction companies -- Larsen & Toubro Limited, Tata Projects Limited and Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Private Limited -- after disqualifying four other entities, Hindustan Times first reported on August 12.

“The third firm, Shapoorji Pallonji & Company had submitted its Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) but it did not submit a financial bid today,” the second official quoted before, said.

HT reached out to Shapoorji Pallonji group for a comment but could not get a response.

In the technical round Mumbai-based construction and civil engineering company ITD Cementation India Limited, Hyderabad-headquartered NCC Limited, PSP Projects Limited of Ahmedabad, and Uttar Pradesh state government’s UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Limited were disqualified by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

Based on an evaluation, CPWD disqualified the four companies for reasons including non-fulfilment of the criteria mentioned in the bid document.

The tender laid out strict eligibility criteria based on a firm’s past work, such as having constructed an assembly hall with a minimum capacity of 1,000 people and a building with a basement, as well as ongoing projects, average monthly turnover, and net worth.

The proposed work is of very prestigious nature and is required to be completed strictly within the prescribed time limit of 21 months with the highest standards of quality and workmanship, the bid document said. The bid document also specified that 50% of the workers will need to be skilled in stone masonry, carving, and fresco, and adequate health and safety measures would need to be taken in view of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

Work on the new Parliament, a ground plus two-storey triangular-shaped building, is expected to begin after the ongoing monsoon session, HT reported on September 15.

India’s national emblem is likely to sit atop the new Parliament building, according to the latest design iteration prepared for the tendering process, replacing a spire that was there in an earlier version.

The new Parliament building with a built-up area of approximately 60,000 metre square, is set to come up on plot number 118 of the Parliament House Estate, which currently houses a reception, boundary walls and other temporary structures.