MMRDA to re-tender twin infra projects for Thane-Bhayandar
MUMBAI: Two big ticket infrastructure projects to improve road connectivity between Thane and Mira-Bhayander will soon be re-tendered by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The development authority on June 10 had sought detailed financial estimates, rate justifications and supporting documents from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the projects.
L&T's bid for the two projects combined - ₹3,130 crore - was less than the lowest bidder declared by the MMRDA. Hence, the engineering company had moved the Bombay high court as well as the Supreme Court, challenging the decision to award the contracts to Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited (MEIL).
During the hearing of the petition challenging its disqualification in the two high-value tenders, L&T had asserted before the Supreme Court that it had quoted ₹6,498 crore for the Gaimukh to Fountain Hotel Junction Twin Tunnel and ₹5,554 crore for the Fountain Junction to Bhayander Elevated Road.
'We gave L&T seven working days to respond, a deadline that has now passed. As of June 19, no reply has been received. This silence raises questions about the seriousness of L&T's courtroom claims,' shared an MMRDA official. 'When a firm makes financial claims in the Supreme Court, it has the responsibility to back those up. Especially when it involves public money and a government agency formally requests it for details.'
The apex court dismissed L&T's petition as 'infructuous' after MMRDA voluntarily chose to cancel and re-tender the projects. MEIL had submitted quotes of ₹9,019 crore for the elevated road and ₹6,163 crore for the tunnel project, a total sum of ₹15,182 crore as against ₹12,052 crore by L&T.
'With the tender process set to restart now and the bids legally sealed under tendering rules, MMRDA has asked L&T to share the estimates it had openly mentioned in court (even though it has been disqualified). The intent is to allow the MMRDA's Tender Review Committee, which has members from IIT and finance backgrounds, to objectively assess if L&T's figures can serve as benchmarks for more competitive base rates,' said the official.
An email sent by HT to L&T for a comment on this development did not elicit any response.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
28 minutes ago
- Mint
HSBC Said to Be Creating New Team for Tough Infrastructure Deals
(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc is setting up a dedicated team to finance infrastructure projects that would typically struggle to attract capital from other sources, according to people familiar with the matter. The corporate and institutional banking unit is looking for a global head of strategic financing partnerships, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private deliberations. HSBC started searching for someone to fill the role, which may be based in the US, a few months ago but has yet to settle on a candidate, they said. The role will report to Danny Alexander, who is chief executive of infrastructure finance and sustainability within HSBC's CIB unit, they said. A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment. The new hire will build out a small team globally that will focus on so-called blended finance deals for infrastructure projects that pool together concessional and commercial capital, the people said. Blended finance is intended to channel a combination of private and public funds into sustainable projects, mostly in developing countries. A key challenge around such projects, however, is coming up with a risk-reward structure that can lure adequate levels of private capital. HSBC's new team will be tasked with establishing partnerships that are similar to a Singapore-based debt financing platform called Pentagreen Capital, one of the people said. Pentagreen, which HSBC established back in 2022 together with state investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte., is targeting assets related to renewable energy, storage, water and waste treatment as well as transport infrastructure. Citigroup Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. are among other lenders targeting new deals in the market for blended finance. Such transactions totaled $18 billion last year, down 21% from 2023, according to a report by data provider Convergence published in May. Blended finance faces a decline in public spending as the US pulls back from many of its developmental aid commitments. HSBC is creating its new blended-finance team as other parts of the bank undergo considerable upheaval. That includes a global restructuring program to cut costs by about $3 billion, a plan that includes ending businesses such as equity underwriting and advisory services outside the bank's core operations in Asia and the Middle East. --With assistance from Alastair Marsh. More stories like this are available on
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Midjourney lets you generate AI video from still images with V1 for free: Here's how
Midjourney has entered the AI video generation space with the launch of its first video model, V1. This new tool marks a shift from image creation to video animation, as the San Francisco-based company now allows users to turn still images into short video clips. The feature is currently only accessible via the web and is free for all users on the platform. However, a monthly subscription of at least $10 is required to access fast video generation. With Midjourney V1, users can upload either their own images or select from AI-generated images produced by Midjourney's own AI system. To begin, users need to select the 'Animate' option, which can produce four five-second video clips from a single image. Each clip can be extended by up to four seconds, for a maximum total of 20 seconds. However, it remains uncertain if these videos will include sound features at this stage. Also read: India's digital job scene to expand in 2025 with rise in AI and data-driven roles There are two available modes for animation: Automatic and Manual. The Automatic mode offers motion suggestions, which guide how the image could move. Meanwhile, Manual mode gives users the ability to control movement through detailed prompts, which allows them to influence how the scene develops over time. Also read: India's digital job scene to expand in 2025 with rise in AI and data-driven roles Users can also choose between two camera movement styles. The low-motion style keeps the camera mostly stationary, with limited movement. In contrast, the high-motion style introduces more dynamic movement, where both the camera and the subject display motion throughout the clip. A post shared by HT Tech (@hindustantimestech) Midjourney has made this tool available to all account tiers, including free users. However, video generation consumes significantly more resources. According to the company, creating a video clip uses eight times more GPU time than generating a still image. Midjourney CEO David Holz noted that this method is more affordable than previous market offerings and expects continued improvement in the tool's performance and cost-efficiency. Also read: Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Flagship features in a handful package Users can create videos in two operational modes: fast mode and relax mode. Fast mode uses a fixed GPU time allotment provided each month, where one minute of GPU time generates an image, and eight minutes are required for a video. Once users exhaust their GPU time, they cannot create additional content until the quota resets. On the other hand, 'Relax Mode' is currently only available to Pro-tier subscribers and above and allows for unlimited video generation. However, there are longer wait times, with video prompts potentially taking up to 10 minutes to complete.
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Axiscades, Europe's MBDA join hands to set up defence unit in Bengaluru
Homegrown Axiscades on Friday said it has signed an agreement with European missile systems major MBDA to set up a defence facility in Karnataka . The pact has been inked through its wholly owned subsidiary Axiscades Aerospace and Technologies to set up the unit at the Aerospace Park near Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru , Axiscades Technologies (Axiscades) said in a statement. "The facility will be equipped with test bench laboratories, infrastructure for missile launchers , specialized equipment, and trained technical personnel to support MBDA's advanced systems engineering requirements," it said. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Paris Air Show 2025 in France. In May, Axiscades CEO and MD Alfonso Martinez said, "As we approach FY26, our priority is to capitalise on the opportunities in emerging sectors like manufacturing, MRO, chip-to-product and advanced defence technologies, including unmanned warfare, to bring about non-linear, product-led, scalable growth". Live Events Bengaluru-based Axiscades is a leading end-to-end engineering and technology solutions provider, catering to sectors like aerospace, defence, heavy engineering, automotive and energy, among others.
