MTC Delays Tender Opening For 1540 Electric Buses In Chennai Metropolitan Area

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has postponed the opening of tenders for operating 1,540 electric buses across the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Originally scheduled to open on Wednesday (July 15), the bids have now been rescheduled to July 30 to address queries raised by interested vendors during pre-bid meetings.

MTC Managing Director D Mohan stated that the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB), which serves as the program management unit for the project, is currently working on resolving the queries raised by the vendors. Mohan explained that the opening of the bids was deferred specifically to ensure that a corrigendum addressing these queries could be issued beforehand.

The rescheduling delays the procurement and rollout of a diverse fleet of 1,540 air-conditioned electric buses. This planned procurement includes 1,000 standard e-buses measuring 12 meters in length, 370 small e-buses measuring 7 meters in length, 150 micro e-buses measuring 5 meters in length, and 20 double-decker e-buses. The tenders for these vehicles, which will be operated under the Gross Cost Contracting (GCC) model, were originally floated in February and March.

Currently, the MTC operates a fleet of 124 small buses functioning as feeder services, alongside 22 micro buses that provide exclusive first and last-mile connectivity for a few metro stations in the city. As of March, the corporation's overall fleet strength stood at 4,130 ordinary buses.

This deferment comes shortly after the state transport department cancelled a separate tender, floated during the previous regime, for procuring 500 air-conditioned e-buses meant for operation in Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore.

Meanwhile, the transport department is also looking into funding methods to procure 2,000 air-conditioned e-buses, a project recently announced by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for statewide operation. Transport Department Secretary M Vallalar stated that the department will most likely operate these upcoming buses under the GCC model as well.