BharatNet Phase-III: Polycab wins ₹6,447.54-crore deal for Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry circle
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
(
BSNL
) has awarded a ₹6,447.54-crore deal to homegrown electrical wires and
optical cable manufacturer
Polycab
to construct and maintain a middle-mile network under the
BharatNet Phase-III
programme in Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry telecom circle.
'...Polycab India Limited has executed an agreement with BSNL as the Project Implementation Agency for Design, Supply, Construction, installation, upgradation, operation and maintenance of middle mile network of Bharat Net in Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry Telecom Circle against Package No. 4 amounting ₹6,447.54 crores (inclusive of GST),' Polycab said in a regulatory filing in aftermarket hours Tuesday.
The deal value comprises a capital expenditure (capex) of ₹3,741.92-crore and operating expenditure (opex) of ₹2,245.15-crore, and an opex of ₹460.47-crore for the existing network, as per the filing.
BharatNet
, a rural telecom connectivity project, is aimed at providing non-discriminatory access to broadband connectivity to all telecom operators (telcos).
BSNL has previously awarded contracts to Polycab, ITI Limited, Sterlite Technologies (STL),
Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited
(TCIL), and Pratap Technocrats, among others, under multiple packages of the BharatNet Phase-III programme.
ETTelecom reported on August 7, 2024, that the Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), ITI Limited, indigenous optical fiber cable (OFC) makers HFCL, STL, Polycab, and Pratap Technocrats, are among the bidders for the third phase of the Centre's ambitious BharatNet programme.
Indigenous OFC makers Polycab, STL and HFCL presented solo bids while as many as 18 bidders, including G R Infraprojects, Vindhya Telelinks, Pace Digitek Infra Private Limited, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Megha Engineering, and others, took the consortium route.
A total of 21 bidders put in their bids under the BharatNet 3 program for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, North East Region – I and North East Region – II, and others.
In early 2024, the Centre rolled out the BharatNet III programme with an outlay of Rs 65,000-crore. The last date to submit bids was August 6, 2024.
The tender is part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's Rs 1.39 lakh crore BharatNet programme which aims to provide last-mile broadband connectivity, and upgrade the existing 164,000 gram panchayats, as well as, connect 47,000 gram panchayats under the new model.
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