A consortium led by IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd has become L-1 EPC contractor at a quoted price of Rs 1,176 crore for the three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) Malanjkhand underground mine expansion project of Hindustan Copper Ltd.
This is the biggest of the eight projects that the company has taken up. The bid was submitted August 2.
Cost savings
Mr Shakeel Ahmed, Chairman and MD, said on Tuesday that for competitive bidding, the total estimated cost of the expansion projects of Hindustan Copper came down to Rs 3,400 crore from the Rs 3,677 crore, originally envisaged.
“The saving on the total project cost for Malanjkhand (Rs 1,857 crore) in Madhya Pradesh alone is Rs 176 crore,” Mr Ahmed said.
The company awarded the contract for Khetri mine (Rajasthan) expansion to a consortium of Maheshwari Mining and Wenzhou Construction Group of China on July 15. The Rs 96.8-crore contract like all others is to be executed within five years.
Mr Ahmed told Business Line that the stay on the tender proceedings for the Kolihan mines, also in Rajasthan, could be vacated shortly. The Madras High Court had stayed the process on a writ petition filed by one of the bidders.
Jharkhand projects
For Surda mine project in Jharkhand, Shriram EPC became the lowest bidder at a price of Rs 206.34 crore in July, Mr Ahmed said.
The Maheshwari Mining-led consortium, at its quote of Rs 78.55 crore, became the lowest bidder on July 29 for Kendadih Mine reopening an expansion project.
KOPEX, with a quote of Rs 260.85 crore, was declared on August 4 as a lowest bidder for Rakha project. Maheshwari mining also became the lowest bidder (Rs 264.96 crore) for the Chpari-Sideshwar mine project.
Conversion plan
Mr Ahmed said that during the Q3 and Q4 of 2011-12, Hindalco will convert 70 per cent of the metal-in-concentrate (MIC) produced by Khetri mines and the balance will be turned into cathode by Sterlite Industries.
Sterlite would also convert one-fifth of the total production of MIC at Malanjkhand. The rest of the production would be converted by Hindusatn Copper at its smelter at Ghatshila in Jharkhand. Last fiscal, the company got 50 per cent of conversion (31,683 tonnes of MIC) outsourced from Hindalco alone.