Kolkata-based PSU secures contract of steel bridges worth Rs 80 crore in border areas

KOLKATA: Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) has secured what it termed as a “groundbreaking deal” with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for the fabrication, supply, erection and launching of additional 30 double-lane class-70R modular steel bridges in border areas.

A statement issued by GRSE said that the two-year contract worth Rs 80 crore approximately was inked during the 64th Raising Day celebration of BRO on May 7. The agreement entails the construction of the bridges, designed exclusively by GRSE, to enhance connectivity in critical forward areas along India’s borders, facilitating seamless troop and equipment deployment.

It is learnt that the double-lane steel bridge developed by GRSE stands as the sole indigenous solution of its kind in line with India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’. So far, 12 Bridges have been supplied by GRSE under the first MoU signed on Mar 15, 2022, out of which four bridges have already been launched and launching works on two to three bridges are in progress. The first bridge of this kind was constructed at Flaghill, Dokalam, Sikkim at an altitude of 11,000 feet under ‘Project Swastik’ of the BRO, inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 28, 2021.The bridges have a carriageway width of 7.5 metres, permitting plying of two-way traffic in compliance with specifications laid down by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “In August 2022, GRSE attained an exclusive distinction by becoming the sole Indian organization qualified for the esteemed Green Channel Certification for Portable Steel Bridges (Bailey Type) from the Army”, the GRSE said.