Dilip Buildcon announced on Tuesday, November 12, that its STL-DBL consortium had submitted the lowest bid for BSNL's BharatNet Phase III broadband connectivity project. The USOF-funded project, which aims to provide middle and last-mile connectivity in Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, is valued at Rs.1,625.36 Crore. Dilip Buildcon holds a 70.23% stake in the implementation of the project.

The project is expected to be completed in three years, and the corporation will secure a 10-year maintenance contract.

In recent days, BSNL has awarded several contracts for the BharatNet project. On Monday, November 11, HFCL announced that its consortium, which includes Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) and Aerial Telecom Solutions, had been selected as the lowest bidder for another BharatNet project. This consortium bid Rs.6,925 Crore for the middle-mile network in Uttar Pradesh’s east and west as part of the BharatNet Phase III initiative by the Centre.

Additionally, ITI Ltd, as the L1 bidder, was assigned Package No. 15, which covers the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur, valued at Rs.1,537 Crore. ITI was also awarded Package No. 8 for Himachal Pradesh and Package No. 9 for West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, totaling Rs.3,022 Crore, as per a stock exchange filing dated November 10.