Delhi operator on track to build Bahrain metro

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THE operator of a major 391km metro network in India’s capital has qualified to bid for consultancy work in the Bahrain Metro Phase One Project.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced on Monday that ‘it has qualified for the pre-qualification tender process for an international consultancy project to construct the Phase-1 Project of Bahrain Metro’.

The company also announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BEML, an Indian public sector manufacturer of heavy equipment such as bulldozers, excavators and rail coaches. BEML will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of ‘rolling stock’ while DMRC will provide expertise in project development, budgeting and facilitating progress of contractual obligations for the Bahrain Metro Project.

Rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, both powered and unpowered, for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars.

A GDN report last November quoted Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry assistant under-secretary for land transportation Hussein Ali Yacoub as saying that “a major tender to construct Bahrain Metro network will be launched during the first quarter of 2023”.

He said bids will be invited after announcing the list of consortia which are qualified to implement the project.

The pre-qualification tender was issued and closed in May 2022. The ministry had then said it would “prequalify suitably experienced companies with relevant expertise to design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer the project”.

Pre-qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next stage, as per the tender document filed by the ministry.

Mr Yacoub said 11 bids submitted by consortiums that include international and local companies specialising in mass-rapid transit and construction activities were evaluated.

In 2018, Bahrain announced plans to develop a 109km-long fully-automated, driverless metro system in four phases – estimated to cost around $2 billion.

It would be developed through an integrated public-private-partnership (PPP) in a two-stage process comprising pre-qualification followed by the main tender. The selected private partner will implement the project with a contract period of 35 years, the government said.

Serving 20 stations and two interchanges, phase one will consist of an elevated corridor with two lines running to a total length of 28.6km. The first line will connect Bahrain International Airport to the Seef District while the second will link Juffair to the educational area in Isa Town.

GDN reported last October that Bahrain was one of five international metro projects that DMRC was confident of winning owing to the company’s track-record of operating the Delhi Metro ‘with 99.99pc safety and reliability since 2002’ and ‘lots of expertise in construction, consultancy and O&M (operation and maintenance)’.

It quoted DMRC managing director Vikas Kumar telling The Economic Times that the company was ‘way more competitive in pricing’ as compared with Japanese firms, making it a strong contender.

The Delhi Metro network consists of 12 lines serving 286 stations and is the largest and busiest metro rail system in India.