The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to change the way it selects companies for preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for highway projects. Until now, the contract often went to the company that quoted the lowest price (L1). But now, the government wants to focus on quality, experience, and financial commitment.
What’s Changing?
Instead of choosing just the lowest bidder, companies will now be judged on:
- Technical skills and experience (30 marks)
- Past performance ratings (30 marks)
- Bank Guarantee (BG) amount they are willing to give (40 marks)
A higher BG means the company is more serious, as they risk losing part of it if they don’t perform well.
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Why the Change?
A senior ministry official said, “We want only serious companies who can deliver quality work on time. Earlier, too many companies would bid just to get the project cheaply, and that affected quality.”
What Is a DPR?
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) is like a detailed blueprint for a project. It includes all the technical, financial, and planning details needed before a highway or road is built.
Previous Method vs. New Approach
Earlier, agencies used a model called Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS), which gave 80% importance to quality and 20% to cost.
Last year, NHAI tried a new method — fixing the project cost and awarding work only to the most qualified companies. Now, the ministry is making this system even better by adding performance ratings and bank guarantees.
Rewards for Good Work
- If a DPR helps a project get completed on time without any changes or delays, the company will get a 5% bonus.
- Payments and BG refunds will be given step by step, depending on the project’s progress.
How Will Companies Be Rated?
Companies will be judged based on:
- Projects where 180 days have passed since the official start.
- Projects that have received completion certificates.
- Four- or six-lane projects longer than 10 km, and two-lane ones longer than 25 km.
These ratings will happen twice a year to separate top performers from poor ones.
The government wants better-quality DPRs by selecting companies with strong skills, a good track record, and financial commitment — not just those offering the lowest price.
