Financial bid for Marhora diesel plant in Bihar to open in Sep

Financial bidding for the big ticket Rs 1200 crore diesel locomotive project at Marhora in Bihar will open on September 1.

Two US multinationals — GE and EMD – are vying to bag the plant, Railway Board Member Hemant Kumar said here today.

Ending the suspense over the fate of the proposed plant to be executed in the joint venture model, Railways has finalised the financial bidding for the high-value joint venture projects after considerable delays, re-thinking and prolonged due diligence amid repeated revision of bidding documents.

Before opening the request for proposal (RFP) containing financial bidding documents, there will be a second-pre-bid meeting on June 24, Kumar said.

With the government allowing 100 per cent FDI in the railway sector, setting up of locomotive plant in joint venture model is crucial for Railways to give a boost to its infrastructure.

After the opening of the RFP, it will take about a month to examine the financial documents before announcing the award, he said.

Marhora plant will produce 4500 HP and 6,000 HP diesel locomotives using state-of-the-art technology.

In the course of about 10 years after commissioning, the proposed plant is expected to manufacture nearly 1,000 diesel- electric locomotives, that is 100 locomotives annually.

While 700 diesel locomotives will be equipped with 4,500 horse power (HP), 300 diesel locomotives will be manufactured with 6,000 HP, said the official.

These locomotives will be fuel efficient and help mitigate the adverse impact of greenhouse gases.

Courtesy: PTI