India, June 28 -- The Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) on Friday finalised the general consultant for the metro project that will connect the Millennium City Centre metro station with Cyber Hub in a loop of 29km, officials, aware of the matter, said. The bid by Deutsche Bahn Engineering (DBEC) and Hill International, a joint venture, was found suitable for the project and they were also the lowest bidders, a senior GMRL official said. The tender of Rs.135 crore for hiring a general consultant was floated on May 8, last year and the date was extended to attract companies with experience in executing similar projects, said the GMRL official, adding that special permission was taken from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to float the tender as the model code of conduct was in place at that time. "The negotiations to hire the general consultant were held in Panchkula on Friday and the bidder was finalised. The contract for general consultant will be awarded soon as all formalities have been completed. The joint venture of DBEC and Hill International was found most suitable. The general consultant will oversee the entire project from start to finish and the period of work is four years," said a senior GMRL official. According to the mandate given for general consultant, the firm will supervise the construction and execution of the metro system, and this includes reviewing the DPR, checking designs, preparing tender documents, supervising construction, test and commissioning the entire system and similar work. The GMRL official said that the corporation has already hired the detailed design consultant for the project (Systra), which has carried out geo-technical surveys and is finalising the alignment and design of the Gurugram Metro. "The general consultant will be responsible for the construction, supervision and commissioning of the entire metro network. We have also floated the tender for award of civil construction work for the first phase of metro and received eight bids from major firms," the senior GMRL official said....