JBM Electric top bidder for 500 KfW-funded low-floor buses

CHENNAI: JBM Electric Vehicles has emerged as the highest bidder for the KfW-funded procurement and operation of 500 electric low-floor buses, including 340 AC buses, for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).

The bids were admitted for technical evaluation on May 16, with financial bids expected to be opened thereafter.

The project is part of the German development bank KfW’s Climate Friendly Modernisation Programme and follows a comprehensive design–build–operate model. Floated by the Institute of Road Transport (IRT), the tender covers deployment of buses in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai, along with upgrades to depots and charging infrastructure.

Of the 500 buses, MTC would receive 320 AC buses, TNSTC Madurai 100 non-AC electric buses, and TNSTC Coimbatore 80 buses, including 20 AC units. A clause in the tender allows the government to increase the order by up to 25%, potentially raising the total to 625 buses, depending on operational and financial considerations.

This KfW-funded project is distinct from the World Bank-supported tender issued earlier this year under the Chennai Sustainable Urban Services Programme (C-SUSP). That project is being implemented in two phases under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model.

In Phase 1, MTC awarded a contract to OHM Mobility, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, for 625 electric buses, with the launch expected in the first week of June. Phase 2, currently in the bidding stage, involves procurement of 600 additional buses (400 AC and 200 non-AC), funded by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with a 25% scaling option taking the potential total to 750 buses.

Under the GCC model, buses are owned by the contractor, who provides drivers, handles maintenance and charging, and is paid on a per-kilometre basis. In contrast, under the KfW tender, buses would be procured by the transport corporations.

The contractor would receive a lump sum for depot improvement works at Ayanavaram, Adyar, and Tambaram in Chennai; Sungam and Ondipudur in Coimbatore; and Ponmeni and Thirumangalam in Madurai. For operation and maintenance, including driver supply, payment would be made per kilometre for AC and non-AC buses separately.