Gurugram, Aug. 13 -- The Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) has finalised negotiations to award the civil construction contract for the first phase of the Gurugram Metro project to a joint venture of Dilip Buildcon and Ranjit Buildcon for Rs.1,277 crore plus GST, a senior GMRL official said on Tuesday. The letter of allotment is expected to be issued within the next two days. A senior GMRL official aware of the matter said the decision followed two days of negotiations in Chandigarh under the chairmanship of GMRL managing director Dr Chander Shekhar Khare, along with officials from the state government and the bidding company. "The contract has been finalised and a letter of allotment will be issued in a day or two. We have asked the company to mobilise the site at the earliest. We expect the work to formally start next month," Dr Khare said. Although the official completion deadline for the first phase is 30 months, GMRL aims to finish the work in 20 months. The joint venture had emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rs.1,286 crore package of one civil construction work from Millennium City Centre to Sector 9. Their quote of Rs.1,503 crore was lower than those submitted by five other major infrastructure firms-L&T, GR Infra, Afcons, J Kumar, and KLPT. The scope of work includes building a 15.23 km elevated viaduct with 14 stations from Millennium City Centre to Sector 9 (inclusive), a 1.85 km spur to Dwarka Expressway, a ramp to the depot at Sector 33, and an underpass at Bhakhtawar Chowk. Millennium City Centre will serve as an interchange with the existing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) station. The stations in package one are Millennium City Centre, Sector 45, Cyber Park (Sector 46), Sector 47, Subhash Chowk, Sector 48, Sector 33, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar Phase VI, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai, Sector 9, and Sector 101 (connected to the main line via a spur). In parallel, GMRL has begun the geotechnical survey for the second phase of the project, a 16 km alignment from Sector 9 to Cyber Hub, with an additional spur to Gurugram railway station. "The geotechnical survey. will find detailed information about the geostrata. We plan to expedite this work so that the tender for the second phase. can be floated at the earliest," the GMRL official said. The survey involves drilling boreholes, conducting standard penetration tests, collecting soil samples, and recording water table data. The consultant's report will classify soil and rock types, analyse test results, and recommend suitable foundation types along with design criteria, methodology, and strata-specific details. The Rs.5,452 crore Gurugram Metro extension project, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16 last year, will extend the metro line from Huda City Centre to Cyber Hub via Old Gurugram. The alignment will span 28.5 km with 27 elevated stations....