The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has floated a tender for the development of a major Land Port Terminal Complex and stakeholder accommodation at Bhittamore in Sitamarhi district, Bihar, near the Indo-Nepal border. The estimated project cost stands at ₹349.70 crore including GST.
The project will be implemented through Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode under a single stage, two-envelope bidding system. The tender was published on June 30, 2025, with the bid submission deadline set for August 4, 2025.
The proposed terminal will span across 30 acres while the stakeholder accommodation site will cover 4 acres. Both locations, situated near the Ratu river, require extensive land filling above the High Flood Level (HFL) to mitigate flood risks. The contractor will be responsible for complete design and construction of modern infrastructure including dismantling of existing structures, land development, architecture, MEP services, external development, and obtaining statutory approvals. The project also mandates a GRIHA IV rating for green buildings.
The total duration for completion is 36 months comprising 6 months for design and approvals and 30 months for construction. This will be followed by a 36-month defect liability and operation period along with an additional 24 months of comprehensive maintenance.
Only Indian companies incorporated under the Companies Act are eligible to bid. Joint ventures and consortiums are not permitted. The tender process includes a mandatory site visit by a senior architect or engineer from the bidder’s firm with visits allowed up to July 8, 2025. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for July 10, 2025 at the LPAI office while the last date for submitting queries is July 14.
To qualify, bidders must demonstrate prior experience in similar design-and-build/EPC projects such as airport terminals, land ports, 5-star hotels, hospitals, or metro stations. The qualifying projects must include air-conditioned buildings with a minimum built-up area of 10,000 sqm and HVAC capacity of at least 500 TR.
Financially, bidders should have an average annual turnover of ₹210 crore from building construction work over the last five years, positive profit in at least two of the last five financial years, and net worth or banking capacity as prescribed. An earnest money deposit of ₹3.60 crore is required.
The technical bid will be opened on August 5, 2025 and financial bids will be opened later based on the technical evaluation. Bidders must secure a minimum of 75% in the technical evaluation (reducible to 65% by authority discretion) to qualify.
The LPAI has emphasized that all key personnel including project managers and senior architects must be on the company’s payroll for the last two years and must be graduates from NIRF top-100 institutes. The authority also highlighted strict clauses related to authenticity of submissions, bid modifications, and the requirement for local content under ‘Make in India’ guidelines.
