Gammon India clinches Rs 338 cr Bhopal deal

Gammon India has finally clinched the Rs 338 crore re-densification project to build a Central Business District in a prime business locality of Bhopal. The state Cabinet on Thursday decided to accept the single bid offer by the company, which qualified for it in December last year.

Reports earlier surfaced that the government had been toying with the idea of canceling the bid offer, which was 150% more than the reserved floor price of Rs 225 crore. This newspaper in its February issue had carried a story in this regard.

The deal has also paved the way for another project in Gwalior on the similar lines.

Gammon outbid 17 big companies like L&T, Reliance and DLF to clinch the deal. The company had not received any information after it technically qualified for the project in December. The project is to create shopping malls, Cineplex and other facilities in an area of 15 acres of land on public-private model.

To arrange land for the project, 192 residential quarters for government employees will be demolished, which were constructed in 1958.

"State cabinet has on Thursday accepted the Gammon India's single bid for the project. As many as 133 residential quarters have been vacated and most of them have been demolished in the locality and fifty nine families have been shifted in other locality, "a government spokesperson told BS.

However this decision will be a major set back for the local builders eyeing the project. A section of the state cabinet had reportedly planned to cancel the offer and award it to small and local real-estate developers.

The documents in terms and conditions of the project say that the company should be assigned the work within two days after the announcement of its qualification for the project.

The company qualified on December 12. IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation) is the consultant for the project, while Madhya Pradesh Housing Board is the nodal agency.