New Delhi ,NO 25:
Finding it difficult to source domestically its entire requirement of steel rail to complete the expansion projects in hand, the Indian Railways is set to go in for global tender to procure six lakh metric tonnes of the metal.
Disclosing this, a senior Railway Board official said, the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has been granted an exemption from the mandatory local sourcing clause, while procuring steel rails. The government’s nod to procure steel rail from abroad came after Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) expressed its inability to meet the full requirements of the Railways.Vishwesh Chaubey, Member, engineering, Railway Board, while giving the year-wise break-up of the quantity of steel rail, which the Indian Railways procured from SAIL in the past three years, said, soon the national transport monolith will float “global tender” for sourcing the shortfall of around six lakh metric tonnes, which would be worth around Rs 1.5 lakh crore.Making a case for going in for global tender, Chaubey said, the Railways has set target of doubling, tripling and track renewal of more than 15,000 km by 2023 and of which about 2,000 km will be completed during the current financial year and the rest in the next four years.“For the current financial year, the SAIL has agreed to provide 10.6 lakh metric tonnes of steel rail, whereas our requirement is a little over 16 lakh metric tonnes. Previously.
