Mumbai Metro bids are too high, feels govt

Even as the state government is evaluating the bids for Mumbai Metro rail project, senior government officials said that the bids were on the higher side.

"We were surprised to find the bids too high," said T Chandrashekhar, additional commissioner of the project executor Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

He said Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) and IL&FS, the bidders, have asked for a viability gap funding between Rs 1,235 crore and Rs 1,269 crore. This, he said, was more than double what the government had envisaged earlier at around Rs 500 crore.

Another senior government official said that the base price for the project was around Rs 1,500 crore, but the bid received from REL is around Rs 3,200 crore and the second bid is for Rs 2,800 crore.

MMRDA received those bids last week.

Mumbai Metro is a crucial project for ADAE chief Anil Ambani as he is trying to establish his identity as a business tycoon in his own right.

Earlier, he was outbid by Mukesh Ambani led Reliance group for a 18.5 acre plot in the Bandra-Kurla Complex.