Delhi Metro awards L&T led venture with Shanghai Urban Construction Corp Rs275 crore tunnelling order for airport line

Mumbai: The Larsen & Toubro joint venture with Shanghai Urban Construction (Group) Corporation has secured a Rs275-crore design and build contract from Delhi Metro Railway Corporation Ltd (DMRC), for the construction of 2.4km underground twin tunnel.

The tunnel would start from the metro rail IGI airport station and terminate at Dwarka''s sector 21 on the airport metro express line of phase II of the Delhi Metro project.

L&T is the lead partner in this 51:49 joint venture with the Shanghai-based company.

To be completed in 120 weeks, the project involves construction of 1.6km of bored twin tunnel by using tunnel boring machines and 0.8km of tunnel by cut and cover method.

Out of the six underground packages already awarded by the Delhi Metro Rail Corportion in the Central Secretariat-Qutub Minar corridor of the phase II projects, L&T along with its joint venture firm have so far bagged five contracts, with a combined value value of Rs925 crore. With this new order, the cumulative value of orders secured touches Rs1,200 crore.

"The JV is the first of its kind with a Chinese partner," said K V Rangaswami, president (construction) and member of the board, L&T. "With its past experience in Delhi Metro Rail Corportion ''s phase-1 tunnelling projects and ongoing phase 2 projects, L&T would add value in successful completion of the project along with SUCG''s vast experience in tunneling projects in Shanghai".