Larsen & Toubro, the engineering and construction giant, said on November 10 that it had bagged a Rs 2,460 crore (Rs 24.60 billion) order from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for constructing the monorail project in the city. The company, in association with Malaysia-based Scomi Engineering, will build the 20 km monorail in 30 months.

The consortium would design, construct, install, test and commission the first monorail project in the country.

Another consortium of Reliance [Get Quote] Infrastructure and Hitachi were also in the race, but their bid has been rejected in final run due to the longer timeframe.

Monorail is an urban transport system where the cars or rolling stocks move on a single beam in an elevated corridor. The monorail is a quiet system with sleek exteriors and air-conditioned cars, adding to commuter comfort.

The project would be executed on a fast-track basis as it requires a small foot print and minimal demolition of buildings, L&T said in press release.

The monorail would connect Gadge Maharaj Chowk to Wadala, a distance of 11 km, and Wadala to Chembur via Mahul, a distance of nine km. There would be 18 stations. It would ease congestion and provide interconnectivity between Western suburban railway stations Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel and Central railway stations like Currey Road, Dadar and Wadala. L&T's partner in the project, Scomi Engineering, is one of the world's top three monorail manufacturers with the latest monorail electro-mechanical systems and rolling stock. In the September ended quarter, L&T had a Rs 63,000 crore (Rs 630 billion) order backlog.