After giving four extensions to the bidders for preparation of a detailed layout master plan and urban design guidelines for the proposed International Financial Service Centre (IFSC), its implementing agency received merely three bids on Monday.
Around 31 firms had attended the pre-bid meeting of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on March 11, 2016.
The IFSC is a pet project of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the MMRDA had on February 17, 2016 floated bids for appointing consultants in order to prepare a master layout plan of IFSC on the 20-hectare land reserved at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). It had then given four extensions to the bidders, as it did not receive a single bid.
The three companies that have now bidded for designing and framing urban guidelines for IFSC are Tata Consultants in a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Townland Consultants. Another bidder is the Ahmedabad-based INI design studio private limited and lastly, Ramboll Denmark in joint venture with Henning Larsen Architects from Denmark.
A company representative, who attended the pre-bid meeting had told The Asian Age, on July 1, 2016, that, “There are certain conditions which are not practical and feasible. For example, MMRDA wants companies that have previous experience to prepare the layout for the international financial centre. This automatically makes first-timers and many domestic players ineligible in the bidding for preparing the layout.”
Now, after receiving three bids, the MMRDA will scrutinise the proposals (technical bids) of the companies after which a company will be short-listed.
The construction of the IFSC is already facing another challenge with the railways demanding that land reserved for the IFSC be given to construct an underground terminal for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. However, Mr Fadnavis will take the final decision on the same.
In May 2015, chief minister had revived the proposal for the IFSC, which has been on paper for close to six years now. A proposal for the construction of the same was approved by the MMRDA in August 2015. The global financial centre would encourage international companies to set up their hub in the commercial area of BKC.
