Defence ministry to procure 41 modular bridges for army, inks contract with L&T

The defence ministry on Wednesday sealed a contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to procure 41 sets of modular bridges for the Indian Army at a cost of Rs 2,585 crore.

The bridges have been designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be produced by L&T.  The DRDO nominated L&T as the production agency, officials said.

The ministry said it signed the contract with L&T for the procurement of 41 indigenous modular bridges, worth over Rs 2,585 crore, for the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army "The modular bridges will replace the manually-­launched Medium Girder Bridges (MGB) that are currently being used in the Indian Army," it said.

"The indigenously designed and manufactured modular bridges shall have many advantages over the MGB such as increased span, less time for construction and mechanical launching with retrieval capability," the ministry said.

It said the procurement of these bridges will give a major boost to the bridging capability of the Indian Army on the Western front.  "The project will showcase India's progress in designing and developing world class military equipment and pave the way for enhancing defence exports to friendly countries," the ministry said.