The defence ministry’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd will supply two portable bridges to the state government connecting the proposed routes in view of the Majerhat bridge collapse.

Company officials on Wednesday said it had received a communication from the state authorities on Tuesday for the bridges that would connect both ends of the Chetla canal.

In addition to making ships for the navy and coast guard, the engineering division of the city-headquartered company builds and supplies bridges for the Border Roads Organisation augmenting road networks and connecting difficult terrains, especially in hilly areas, Rear Admiral V.K. Saxena (Retd), chairman and managing director of GRSE, said.

The company is ready to deliver the bridges within 10-12 days of final confirmation, Saxena said.

The estimated cost of the bridges is Rs 2 crore. Both bridges (80ft in length and 4.25m wide) will be single-laned with a load carrying capacity of 90 tonnes.

Traffic movement to and from the south-western parts of the city has been affected after the collapse on September 4, prompting the government to look for alternative solutions before the Puja.

Metro had earlier reported that two roads linking Alipore and New Alipore are being built 500m apart to the east of the collapsed Majerhat bridge. While one road cuts through trees, Chetla canal and two pairs of railway tracks, creating a southward extension of Alipore Avenue till Humayun Kabir Sarani in New Alipore, the other is to the west of Alipore Avenue, running almost parallel to the Majerhat bridge to hit Humayun Kabir Sarani near the mint in Taratala.

The Bailey bridges will help these roads cross the canal that comes in the way.

Developed by the British during WW II, Bailey Bridges are prefabricated structures, easy to assemble and set up with the intent to move vehicles in difficult terrains.

Earlier, a plan was in place to source two Bailey bridges and place them across the fallen Majerhat bridge. The plan was scrapped after engineers said the entire structure should be pulled down.

“We are based in Calcutta and we are keen to supply the portable bridges... we have the capability to build and deliver in a short time period,” GRSE boss Saxena said at the company’s IPO announcement.

The company is set to hit the stock exchanges with an initial public offer on September 24.

Discussions were on with the state authorities. “On Tuesday we came to know that the government was looking for two portable bridges,” Saxena said.

The public sector undertaking has received enquiries for a Bailey bridge to replace a fallen bridge near Siliguri, a company official said. But there hasn’t been any official communication regarding this till now, the official said.

In its red herring prospectus, the company has said

its engineering division supplied 67 portable bridges in 2017-18, 74 in 2016-17 and 70 in 2015-16.

The domestic market size is Rs 2000-2500 million and the company holds 60 per cent.