The Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., has emerged the lowest bidder for the Rs 1,571 crore dredging project for deepening the main channel between Mumbai harbour and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.
Four bidders - three Dutch and one Korean - have participated in the bid which was opened on Monday.
A JNPT official confirmed that Royal Boskalis is the lowest bidder, though it was yet to be officially announced.
Other bidders include Van Oord, Jan De Nul and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company.
The bid was to award the contract for dredging the main navigation channel to deepen the port's draft to 14 meters, from the current 11 meters. This is a crucial project, as after the dreading, the port will be able to handle vessels up to 6,000 TEU capacity.
Tata Consulting Engineering is the management consultants for the project.
The contract is given on an “Assured depth basis,” basis. This model is considered economical compared to a blanket contract.
The port will meet the initial cost of dredging out of its internal resources; the balance will be raised through borrowings.
The project has been delayed due to various reasons.
Though bids were called for in 2008, the project had suffered delays.
In 2008, there was lone bidder who quoted Rs 1,000 crore, which was more than the budget of Rs 800 crore.
In the second round of bids called for later, three parties comprising Dutch and Belgian firms were short-listed.
The South Korean firm, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co, which was initially disqualified from bidding, was later allowed by the Shipping Ministry.
Hyundai was disqualified as the dredger it offered for the work did not meet the age norms specified in the tender.
The project is now slated to be completed by 2014.