Tata Projects Ltd has teamed up with Japanese construction firm Marubeni to place a bid for the western freight corridor.

The financial bids for Phase I of the western corridor project, which is divided into three parts, viz. Rewari-Phulera, Phulera-Palanpur and Palanpur-Vadodara, are expected to open within the next two months.

The Rewari-Phulera part stretches 283 kilometers, while Phulera-Palanpur and Palanpur-Vadodara parts stretch 342 kilometers and 305 kilometers, respectively.

The Marubeni-led consortium also includes KEC, IVRCL, Gammon and Simplex. A total of four consortiums led by four Japanese firms were qualified to bid for the first phase of the project.

The combined cost for eastern freight corridor and western freight corridor projects has been estimated at Rs 88,000 crore, more than three times more than Rs 28,000 crore, which was estimated at time of conceptualization of the corridors in the year 2005.

Previously, the Tata Projects-Aldesa joint venture had bagged contract for first phase of the Kanpur-Khurja project on the eastern corridor. The joint venture had put in a bid of Rs 3,300 crore for the construction of 351 kilometers of the passage.

For the execution of the Kanpur-Khurja project, the World Bank has promised to give $975 million, out of which Tata-Aldesa joint venture will spend $600 million (Rs 3,300 crore), while the remaining will be spent by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp on works like land acquisition.

The Kanpur-Khurja project is expected to be completed in the next four years.