A technical panel set up by Smartcity Thiruvananthapuram-SPV (special purpose vehicle) has commenced scrutinising the management consultancy bids for the project. Three major consortia are in the race for implementing the Rs 1,538-crore Smartcity project. Kerala’s capital had been the topmost on the Centre’s latest list of Tier-2 cities for the government’s Smartcity Mission, for which the then minister for urban affairs Venkaiyah Naidu had announced an overall investment of Rs 57,393 crore. “We are looking at the technical competence of the bidders at first, and later looking at the financial competence too. Once this process is complete, we will execute an agreement with the selected consultant, following which the preparation of the detailed project report for each project will begin,” M Beena, CEO, Smartcity-Thiruvananthapuram, told FE. Although nine companies had turned up for the pre-bid meeting, only three consortia are in the final round. These consortia are led by New-Delhi-based IPE Global, Mahindra Consulting Engineers (formerly Mahindra Acres Consulting Engineers-MACE) and Wadia Techno-Engineering Services.
Meanwhile, Smartcity-Thiruvananthapuram has made headway with assigning the engineering wing of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to prepare designs for the construction activities that the civic body is directly executing without a project management consultant. “For example, we are taking our plunge into the work of 135 Smart Bus stops in the city. This means these bus stops would soon have Wi-Fi facility, mobile charging ports, display boards, drinking water and toilet facilities,” says LS Deepa, secretary, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
