Bids have been returned for the supply of rolling stock, mechanical and electrical equipment, signalisation and installation works for the first stage of the Istanbul metro project. The total value of the low bids returned to client Istanbul municipality is around $230 million.

Low bidder with a price of $92.3 million for power, traction power, signalisation control, supply of communications systems and installation works is Germany's Siemens and Simko. The local and foreign companies bidding were:

Siemens with Simko - $92.3 million

Italy's Ansaldo Transport - $117.8 million

Sweden's ABB Traction with Japan's Marubeni Corporation - $122.8 million

French/UK GEC Alsthom and France's Cegelec and Spie Enertrans, with ATA and Acel Transport - $138.3 million

Low bidder with a price of $73.5 million for station works, auxiliary mechanical and electrical procurement, and required installation and cistern construction works is a venture of the UK's Balfour Beatty with Garanti Koza and Simko. The local and foreign companies bidding were:

Balfour Beatty with Garanti Koza and Simko - $73.5 million

Tefken, Gama, Nurol and Kiska - $94 million

Yapi Merkezi - $96.3 million

Cegelec and Spie Enertrans, with ATA - $117.2 million

Low bidder for the supply of rolling stock is a venture led by Japan's Nissho Iwai and Toshiba, with a price of around $40 million. The bidding ventures of foreign and local companies were:

Nissho Iwai and Toshiba - $39.95 million

ABB Traction with Marubeni Corporation - $53.3 million

Siemens and Austria's Simmering Graz Pauker with Simko and Tuvasas - $54.7 million

Austria's Waggon Bau with Tekfen - $70 million

GEC Alsthom with Polat - $73 million

Italy's Breda Construzione Ferroviarie - $88.2 million

Low bidder for rail laying works is Balfour Beatty with a price of $22 million. Bids from local and foreign companies were:

Balfour Beatty - $22 million

Yapi Merkezi - $22.3 million

Gama Endustri with Poland's Electrim - $26.6 million

Tekfen with a company identified as Leonard Weiss - $33.8 million

Italy's Ansaldo Transport - $35.6 million

Cegelec and Spie Enertrans, with ATA - $41.2 million

Low bidder for the supply of maintenance bench tools is Balfour Beatty with Garanti Koza at a price of around $5.4 million, out of four bids ranging up to $15.6 million.

The contracts are for the first 7-kilometre section of the metro between Taksim at Levent 4, under construction since 1993. Supervising consultant to the municipality is the UK's Acer Group with its local subsidiary.

Industry sources say the municipality wants to award the contracts quickly, so that at least a section of the metro's first stage between Taksim and Sisli can be completed before general elections next fall due late in 1996.