Vihaan Network has bagged Rs.1,648-crore telecom infrastructure project of state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam for providing connectivity in over 4,000 villages in the remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Emerging as the lowest bidder in the tender opened for the first phase of the project by BSNL, VNL will get whole of Arunachal Pradesh which will be around 70-per cent share in the first phase of the North-East mobile connectivity.
This project is part of the Rs.5,336.18 crore worth Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region (NER) comprising 8 states which was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2014. The project envisages providing mobile coverage in 8,621 unconnected villages and seamless coverage along National Highways in the North-East region through 6,673 towers, and will be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
The Project earmarked by BSNL for the domestic technology players would give the remaining 30 per cent to the second-lowest bidder HFCL with around 20-per cent price differential at Rs.1,970 crore, but will be executed at the same price as that of the lowest bid.
VNL Chairman Rajiv Mehrotra said, “We are deeply honoured for becoming a partner for BSNL’s project in difficult areas of North East. It is both a challenge and an opportunity for the homegrown company and we consider the awarding of the project is also the recognition of our work for connecting the Left Wing Extremist areas in 10 states. We are committed to successfully complete the Prime Minister’s dream project and wish to express our gratitude to Hon’ble Communications Minister Manoj Sinha and BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava, for reposing faith in us.”
Under the Phase-I of the project, which is to be executed by state-owned operator BSNL, 2,817 sites are to be installed to cover 4,118 remotely located villages and tough terrains in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam. Projects are to be executed solely through indigenous technology. As per the project condition, the lowest bidder, Vihaan Networks (VNL) in this case, will get to roll out around 1,893 mobile towers in Arunachal Pradesh.
VNL had also completed successfully a BSNL project last year for creating infrastructure in LWE areas after it bagged the contract as the lowest bidder in December last year for providing voice and data connectivity in the most challenging terrain.
The Union Cabinet then chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, had accorded an approval to install and maintain 2,199 mobile towers in Naxal-affected states. Funding came through the USOF (universal service obligation fund) supported scheme.
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