L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited, the concessionaire of the Rs 16,000-crore Hyderabad metro rail project, has awarded the rolling stock contract to Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem Company.
The value of the contract, which comprises 171 cars (57 trains), is around Rs 1,800 crore. The entire contract is denominated in Indian rupees, thus eliminating forex risk, L&T said.
Hyundai Rotem, which was one of the four companies shortlisted by L&T, bagged the contract as its offer was evaluated as the best techno commercial bid, according to an L&T spokesperson. Incidentally, Hyundai Rotem had also been the biggest supplier of rolling stock in India to Delhi and Bangalore metro.
The other three companies in the fray were CSR (China), Bombardier (Canada) and CAF (Spain).
“The much-awaited rolling stock order has been awarded to Hyundai Rotem Company after examining various rolling stock manufacturers operating in metros in India and abroad," VB Gadgil, chief executive and managing director of L&T Metro Rail said in a press release.
According to the contract, the rolling stock will be delivered nine months prior to the commissioning of each stage of the 72-km three-corridor project, which is proposed to be completed five years from July 5, 2012. The company hopes to start at least one stretch by the end of 2014. It proposes to construct the project in six stages and recently got the Andhra Pradesh government's nod for extending the project on the busy Hitec City by a few kilometres.
The state government had awarded the metro project on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.
The company spokesperson said the rolling stock to be supplied by Hyundai Rotem would be the best in terms of quality and technology. Hyundai Rotem is a $2.4-billion company, which is into railway business, producing electric locomotives and passenger cars. The company has supplied rolling stock to similar projects in Japan, Hong Kong and Korea among other countries.