India has rejected the bids from two Chinese companies that emerged as the lowest bidders for stretches of the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai expressway. The projects were regarding two stretches of the upcoming expressway.
The two companies were subsidiaries of Jiangxi Construction Engineering Corporation. According to a government official, the bids have been rejected on issues of security clearances, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times. The Ministry of Highways and Road Transport has rescinded the projects entailing Rs 800 crore.
The official said that they have denied letters of award to the two Chinese companies. The contracts will now be offered to the second-lowest bidders. If their bids match the Chinese companies, the contract will be awarded to them.
The move comes after Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said that Chinese companies would be barred from highway projects. He had said that they would not be allowed even as joint ventures. "We will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction. We have taken a firm stand that if they (Chinese companies) come via joint venture in our country, we will not allow it," he had said in an interview.
Indian Railways had also recently cancelled a Rs 471 crore signalling contract awarded to Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication in 2016. The company was working on signalling and telecommunication work in the 417-km long Kanpur-Deen Dayal Upadhyay section. The decision was reportedly taken as the company had completed only 20 per cent of the total work.
These announcements come after the India-China clash in the Galwan Valley that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. India also banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, UC Browser, Shein over security concerns after the border clash.
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