RInfra-Astaldi consortium bags Versova-Bandra Sea Link project

Mumbai, May 7 (IANS) The Reliance Infrastructure Limited and Astaldi S.p.A (Italy) joint venture has bagged the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the prestigious Versova-Bandra Sea Link Project in Mumbai.

The letter of award (LoA) for the much-anticipated project has been issued by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), an official statement said here on Monday.

The Reliance Infrastructure Limited-Astaldi S.p.A JV had emerged the most competitive bidder with their bid of Rs 6,993.99 crore for the mega infrastructure project which will link with the existing Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which opened in June 2009.

The other bidders in the fray for the Versova-Bandra Sea Link were L&T-Samsung JV and Hyundai Development Company-ITD JV.

The tender for the construction of the second sea link in Mumbai on EPC-basis was floated by MSRDC.

With a length of 17.17 km, the Versova-Bandra Sea Link will be three times the length of the existing Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which is 5.6 km.

"Our JV with Astaldi S.p.A, the third biggest construction player in the world in bridges with an order backlog of over Rs 2 lakh crore, will help us create a truly world class mega infrastructure project for Mumbai," said Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. EPC CEO Arun Gupta.

The largest order executed by Astaldi S.p.A is Izmit Bay Bridge (Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Motorway Project) in Turkey with a $7 billion investment for the entire project. 

It is the fourth longest suspension bridge worldwide that was completed in April 2016, Gupta added.

Besides the Versova-Bandra Sea Link, the company has also executed the Western High Speed Diameter Motorway in Saint Petersburg in Russia with a Rs 17,600 crore contract value.

The project has a 12-km section with 5.3-km viaducts on sea and two cable stay bridges, which was opened to traffic in December 2016.

Reliance Infrastructure Limited is one of the pioneering names in the business with a project portfolio of 1,000 km of roads, 140 MW of solar power and 9,000 MW of thermal power.