Two Chinese firms pull out from Expressway bid

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) informed that two Chinese companies have withdrawn from the bidding for the construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg, a 704-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway despite being qualified for the same. Chinese companies named China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHECL) and the China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corporation Limited (CCFEDCL) have not submitted their bids despite qualifying for the bidding process. CHECL have informed about the withdrawal but CCFEDCL didn’t yet. CHECL which is linked with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had earlier withdrawn from the bidding of 17-km-long Bandra-Versova Sea-Link. The reason is supposed to be not getting security clearance from the Union Home Ministry. The overall construction of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway is estimated to be Rs 46,000 crore. It will have six lanes with additional two roads on both sides and the entire Expressway is built to bring down the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur from 17-18 hours to 10 hours by road.