NHRSCL invites bids for Rs 20,000 crore bullet train project

The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHRSCL) has invited bids for 237 km out of 508 km-long Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, which is the biggest ever contract for civil construction in India. Sources said the project would cost about Rs 20,000 crore and the successful bidder will have to complete the work in 42 months. Industry sources said only a handful of Indian infrastructure majors such as L&T and AFCON can bid for such a huge project and they would also need to have joint venture with Japanese companies such as Hitachi Construction and Mitsubishi Construction. They added Japanese firms can also independently bid for the works considering their vast experience. As per the agreement with the Japanese funding agency, JICA, only Indian and Japanese construction firms are qualified can put their bids.