CDR Infracon wins Rs 82.44 crore NHAI highway strengthening project in Tamil Nadu

The National Highways Authority of India has recommended awarding a key highway strengthening project in Tamil Nadu to Madurai based CDR Infracon Limited. The project involves strengthening and overlaying the four lane Madurai Paramakudi section from Km 5.000 to Km 81.064 of NH 85 and NH 87 which was earlier known as Old NH 49. The work will be executed under the Engineering Procurement and Construction mode.

According to the minutes of the tender evaluation committee meeting held by the NHAI Madurai regional office, CDR Infracon emerged as the lowest bidder for the project. The company quoted Rs 82.44 crore for the work which is about 47.14 percent lower than the estimated project cost of Rs 155.97 crore. A total of seventeen infrastructure companies participated in the financial bidding process after qualifying technically for the tender.

The authority had sought justification and detailed rate analysis from CDR Infracon due to the significantly lower bid price. In its response the company stated that it owns key construction machinery required for the project and also has access to its own aggregate resources. The company further explained that using idle machinery available at its sites would help reduce operational costs while maintaining project efficiency.

CDR Infracon also informed the committee that it procures bitumen materials such as VG 30 bitumen and polymer modified bitumen directly from oil companies including BPCL and IOCL through bulk purchases. This allows the company to secure better pricing and improve cost efficiency. The firm also indicated that it has experienced subcontractors for specialised works such as road marking and milling of existing road surfaces.

After reviewing the justification and rate analysis submitted by the company, the tender evaluation committee recommended awarding the project to CDR Infracon. NHAI will require the contractor to furnish performance security of three percent of the bid price along with an additional performance security of six percent due to the lower bid value. Once the contract agreement is signed the work is expected to commence quickly considering the urgency of the project.