State-run Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has bagged a contract from National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) to supply and launch double-lane class 70 modular steel and bailey bridges.
Both the companies have signed a memorandum of understanding which entails construction and delivery of Class 70R double-lane bridges, designed exclusively by GRSE, to enhance connectivity in critical forward areas along India’s borders, facilitating seamless troop and equipment deployment.
The MoU was signed between Dr. Krishan Kumar, IAS, Managing Director, NHIDCL and Cmde PR Hari, IN (Retd.), CMD, GRSE in the august presence of Shri Anshu Manish Khalkho, IDAS, (Director, A&F), NHIDCL and DIG Subrato Ghosh, ICG (Retd.), Director (Personnel), GRSE and other senior officers of GRSE & NHIDCL.
“The double-lane steel bridge developed by GRSE stands as the sole indigenous solution of its kind, in line with India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,” the company said in a statement.
Under similar MoU signed with Border Roads Organisation (BRO), GRSE has already supplied 44 bridges pan-India. The first bridge of this kind was constructed at Flaghill, Dokalam, Sikkim at an altitude of 11,000 feet under project Swastik of the BRO, inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 28 December 2021.
The bridges have a carriageway width of 7.5 meters, permitting plying of two-way traffic in compliance with specifications laid down by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH). The modular concept ensures easier transportation of bridge components to remote areas and faster erection of bridges in a short span of 30 to 45 days.
In August 2022, GRSE became the sole Indian organisation qualified for the esteemed Green Channel Certification for portable steel bridges (Bailey Type) from the Indian Army.
“GRSE’s portable steel bridge division has pushed the boundaries of innovation through intensive research and development efforts, resulting in the creation of
superior versions of portable bridge designs. Over 5,700 portable steel bridges have already been supplied by GRSE to esteemed entities such as the Indian Army, Border Roads Organisation, NHIDCL, State Public Works Departments, and the Central Government.
These bridges, originally intended for disaster management, have also garnered international recognition, being exported to nations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
