IRB Infrastructure Developers has been selected as a winning bidder by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for the project of design, build, finance, operate and transfer of Jaipur to Deoli section of NH12 from Km 18.70 to Km 165.0 in the State of Rajasthan under NHDP Phase III on Design, build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.

Bids for the request for qualification (RFQ) were opened and five major consortia have now been selected for financial bids, that will be evaluated in 30 days.

With this, the Bangalore Airport Rail Link Limited (BARL) will issue the letter of award (LOA) to the selected concessionaire after the process of evaluation in March 2010. Construction of the HSRL to the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) is then expected to begin in May 2010.

The five selected consortia are: Reliance, Larsen and Toubro, Siemens/Tata Pioneer Infratech, Lanco and ITD-ITD.CEM. The project will also have a contribution of Rs 1,000 crore from the Government of India through a viability gap funding (VGF) route. It may be recalled that the HSRL project was first cleared by the State cabinet in December 2007 and again in February 2009 at the Belgaum session of the legislature.

Another project that has moved forward is the mono rail system for the City under the CTTP (Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan), for which the Bangalore Airport Rail Link Limited (BARL) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

An action plan to this effect has been presented to members of the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure Development (ABIDe). The project now awaits its clearance. To be implemented on a public private partnership (PPP) basis on the identified corridors, the Bangalore Airport Rail Link Limited (BARL) has already issued the letter of intent (LOI) and will appoint consultants by October 19. "The detailed project report (DPR) will then be prepared by January 31, 2010, followed by calling of global tenders through the RFQ and request for proposal (RFP). We hope to have the concessionaire in place in October 2010," informed IDD sources.

The DPR has been prepared by Scomi Geodesic Consortium (SGC), ITNL Enso Rail System Ltd (IERS), a subsidiary of ILandFS Transportation Network Limited (ITNL).

The government has approved the first phase of the project, the 16-km long Green Line connecting Majestic to Agara Lake.

The project would be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) under the Swiss Challenge Procurement process.