Business Line 27.04.2013
Cost increases stall key flyover project in city
Construction of the Park Circus-Parama flyover in Kolkata has
come to a near standstill over high costs. The Rs 300-crore project has
seen a Rs 220-crore cost increase. However, neither the State nor the
Union Government is ready to shoulder the additional burden.
Under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the 9-km
flyover is being executed by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development
Authority (KMDA). The original project deadline had already been
extended by a year due to delay in land acquisition, resulting in a cost
escalation of nearly 70 per cent. The flyover is being built by
Hindusthan Construction Company Ltd.
“KMDA has not yet given certain approvals for the estimated
additional cost to carry out the project work. The construction work has
slowed down a lot. It has even stopped in some portions,” sources
involved in the project told Business Line.
A. K. Saha, CEO, KMDA, however, said the revised deadline could not
be met due to “technical reasons”. “The flyover is expected to be
operational only by March 2014,” he added.
The work contract for a 600-metre bridge on the Park Circus leg was
awarded to L&T only in December last year. Work on this bridge could
not be initiated for long as KMDA was not able to rehabilitate a group
of slum-dwellers and shift a sewerage pipeline from its planned route.
