Bhubaneswar: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the turn-key consultant for the Bhubaneswar metro rail, has invited tenders for Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA)-Acharya Vihar stretch of the project.

The tenders have been invited for 7.122-km long elevated section of metro rail project with six stations at Capital Hospital, Bapuji Nagar, Bhubaneswar Railway Station, Ram Mandir Square, Vani Vihar and Acharya Vihar Square in the capital city here.

The estimated cost of the elevated section of the metro rail project stands at Rs 630.65 crore. Any agency having expertise in constructing similar projects worth not less than Rs 500 crore can submit its bid for the project, sources said.

The DMRC will hold a pre-bid meeting on March 19. Interested parties can submit their bids in between April 15 and 23, sources added.

The DMRC had earlier invited tenders for construction of depot and workshop for the metro rail project at Phulapokhari near Trishulia in Cuttack.

The state government announced the metro rail project for the capital city on April 1 last year. The first phase of the project connecting BPIA with Trisulia (26 km) will be implemented with an expenditure of Rs 6,255.94 crore.

The 26-km long project would have at least 20 stations at BPIA, Capital Hospital, Sishu Bhawan, Bapuji Nagar, Bhubaneswar Railway Station, Ram Mandir Square, Vani Vihar, Acharya Vihar, Jaydev Vihar, Xavier Square, Rail Sadan, District Centre, Damana Square, Patia Square, KIIT Square, Nandan Vihar, Raghunathpur, Nandankanan Zoological Park, Phulapokhari and Trishulia.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid foundation stone for the metro rail project on January 1 this year. The state government has sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore for the project in the vote-on-account recently moved in Odisha Assembly. A target has been fixed to complete the project in three years.