Harsco Corporation of the US, ETF France and China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group Company have key roles to play in the civil contract to build the 400-km section of the Eastern Rail Freight Corridor between Bhaupur and Mughalsarai, both in UP.

All the 16 contractors which are vying for the project are dependent on these three firms for bringing in rail track-laying machinery. The aim is to complete it in four years.

This is because there are no more than five players globally in the rail track-laying equipment space.

And an even smaller number wants to come to India, said a source. Interestingly, 15 of the 16 bidders are dependent on two firms — Harsco and ETF.

The only exception is China Railway 20 Bureau Group, which has named another Chinese firm as the track-laying machine partner, the source said.

Based on past bidding experience, the total contract value of the stretch is estimated at ₹3,500 crore, say multiple sources. Expensive machinery

According to a source, rail track-laying machines are expensive. “A few years ago they used to cost around ₹10-30 crore a machine,” the source said.

“And there are very few firms globally with such technology. These firms are expected to import the track-laying machines, help the winning bidder lay 400 km within the target time, and then re-export the equipment.”

The 16 bidders have a good mix of foreign and Indian players, including Isolux Corsan-Sadbhav Engineering, Gammon-Yuksel, Posco-PNC Infratech, Continental Engineering Corporation Taiwan-JMC-Brahmaputra Infrastructure, Oriental Structural Engineers, China Railway 20 Bureau Group, Essar Projects –KEC, Obrascon Huarte Lain-Constructora De Proyectos Viales De Mexico-GMR Infrastructure-SEW Infrastructure, Constructora Andrade Gutierrez-Afcons, Sibmost- Gayatri-Megha Engineering, Patel Engineering-BSCPL Infrastructure, Chonquing Communications Constructions Group-Era Infra, Punj Lloyd-Balfour-Beatty, IL&FS India-China Railway 21 Group, and Unity Infra-China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group.

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