AP metro rail corp seeks consultant for Vizag proj

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh metro rail corporation (APMRC) has issued a request for proposal (RfP) for the appointment of a general consultant for the Visakhapatnam metro rail project phase one. APMRC board of directors recently approved the implementation of both Vizag and Vijayawada metro rail projects under the EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) model, by engaging general consultants.

This decision was made in light of the numerous advantages offered by this approach. If interim consultants were appointed instead, they would charge approximately 0.2% of the project cost—around 20 crore—for a 12-month period to assist with preliminary activities until the general consultants were engaged.

According to APMRC officials, adopting the EPC model with general consultants is expected to save 20 crore for both the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam metro projects. To facilitate this, APMRC issued RfP for the general consultant for the Vizag metro project, in accordance with the requirements of multilateral funding agencies such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Moreover, the regional office of the metro rail corporation will be relocated to the VMRDA office in Visakhapatnam, with operations expected to commence there in the next few months. APMRC has also issued another tender for furnishing and installation works of the regional office at the VMRDA office in Siripuram.

According to APMRC officials, there could be several drawbacks to engaging an executing agency on a turnkey basis.

This could lead to objections from multilateral funding agencies, increased costs due to turnkey overheads, limited control over procurement and quality, and potential delays arising from coordination with local stakeholders. Given these disadvantages, APMRC has decided to execute the projects on an EPC basis with general consultants.

The chosen consultant will support in procurement, design, construction management, supervision, system integration, interface management, testing, and commissioning of the Vizag metro rail project.