KUALA LUMPUR (Xinhua): Malaysia's Scomi Engineering Bhd and its Indian partner, Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), have won a 1.85 billion ringgit (518.21 million U.S. dollars) contract to build a monorail system in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India, Malaysian media reported on Tuesday.

It is Scomi Engineering's first overseas monorail contract as well as India's first monorail system.

Scomi Engineering, which is part of the oil services group Scomi Group Bhd, has also pre-qualified for a 20-25 km monorail line proposed for the Pune Metropolitan Region, India.

Company officials said that they expected the tender for the Pune project to be called by early next year.

"We have been actively presenting our monorail technology proposals in Bangalore, New Delhi and Patna in India; Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Bahrain in the Middle East; Hanoi in Vietnam; and Lagos in West Africa," Scomi Group chief executive Shah Hakim Zain said in a statement.

Although Scomi Engineering and L&T do not plan to incorporate a joint-venture company, Scomi estimates that its share of the job will be worth 823.3 million ringgit (230.62 million U.S. dollars).

It received the letter of acceptance from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) last Friday. It expects to complete the job in five years.

The monorail project awarded to the consortium by the MMRDA will cover the design works, development, construction and commissioning and maintenance of the monorail system, he said.

Works on the 19.54 km monorail system in India's financial capital will begin from the west side of Mumbai at Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Jacob's Circle) heading northeast to Chembur through Wadala.

The first phase is expected to be completed within 30 months, Shah Hakim said.

"The design of our Scomi Urban Transit Rail Application (Sutra) for this project makes it possible to execute our work on a fast track since it requires a small footprint and facilitates implementation with minimal demolition of structures.

"Other advantages include greater reliability, high maneuverability, lower cost and an eco-friendly design," he said, adding that these factors have made the monorail an attractive option in land-scarce Mumbai.