The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) plans to award about 4,000km of road construction projects in the current fiscal year through the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode. Of this the Ministry has already invited bids for about 2650 km of projects. The developers will be finalised and selected on a generic basis, valid to bid for all projects. The selection will be based upon whether the developers meet the technical and financial capacities as defined in the bidding document. The selected developers can then respond to the request for proposals (RFP) for specific projects sent to them by the Ministry and bid for them. The Ministry has already prepared a Model EPC Agreement Document for construction of various sections of National Highways. The EPC agreement has been designed to minimise time and cost overruns and optimise the design and quality of construction. The projects will also be awarded much faster in the EPC mode, leading to reduced costs, greater efficiency, more flexibility, and would encourage more contractors to bid for the projects.
