A senior public works department (PWD) official said the IIT-B would “proof check” the lowest bid submitted for the project. “This is part of the procedure. The report is expected to be submitted this month after which the bid may be placed before the high-power committee headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for approval,” he added.
The official admitted that while they expected work to be launched by October, they would try and commission it by the year-end.
Three infrastructure majors had bid for construction of the memorial and statue of the warrior-king. Though the state expected the first phase to cost Rs 2,300 crore, Afcons and L&T had quoted Rs 4,779 crore and Rs 3,826 crore respectively.
Reliance Infrastructure lost in the technical evaluation. Officials admitted to a huge discrepancy between their estimates and the actual bids received.