| The state's committee on infrastructure, headed by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, has cleared the Rs 140 crore bid by M/s Ideal Road Developers Ltd (IRBL) to concretise, maintain and collect toll on Ghodbunder Road on Wednesday. |
| "Given the high traffic volume, we estimate that the contractor will earn more than double the cost of the project over a 15-year period. Therefore, we have decided that the contractor should pay us Rs 140 crore upfront," said a senior MSRDC official. |
| A lot of construction activity is taking place alongside this road as sprawling residential complexes have come up at places such as Waghbil, Kasar-Wadawvli and Manpada. Besides, the road serves as an important link to national highway no 3, 4 and 8. Container and truck traffic is also heavy on this road, because of which the road is constantly in a battered state. |
| A senior MSRDC official said, "After taking into consideration the present and projected traffic volume on the road, we fixed the benchmark bid at Rs 125 crore and floated the tenders. According our estimates, the contractor would make much more than Rs 125 crore in 15 years. |
| "Under the terms and conditions of the contract, the contractor would have to pay Rs 140 crore upfront and complete the construction work in 18 months. And if the project is completed earlier than the stipulated period, the contractor would get some extra months to collect toll as incentive," said the official. |
| He said that the contract's terms and conditions are loaded against contractor as the contractor not only has to worry about the construction and maintenance costs, but also about interest on loans he would take for making upfront payment. |
| However, since the expected returns are high, more than 20 contractors had sent expressions of interest and seven actually submitted the tender documents, he said. |
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