Considering the slow progress of construction work in the fourth reach of the Kochi metro rail project, the contractors concerned will be partially relieved from the work.
The fourth reach is between Ernakulam South and Tripunithura-Petta, and as per the decision taken by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Sunday, Era Constructions will be replaced by another contractor for carrying out the work from South to Vyttila.
The rest of the fourth reach, from Vyttila to Tripunithura, will not be re-tendered and Era will go ahead with the construction of that stretch.
According to the DMRC officials, Era Constructions has been partially relieved from the metro construction work in the South-Petta stretch considering the slow progress of the work.
“The work of the Era has been found to be extremely unsatisfactory. They also do not have the financial capacity to go ahead with the contract, especially because Ranken, their Chinese partner, is not aiding them. The DMRC will call for re-tender for the work between South and Vyttila. We have asked Era Constructions to go ahead with the work at Vyttila,” an official said.
Earlier, talking to reporters here, Principal Adviser to DMRC E Sreedharan also said that they were forced to replace Era after finding out that the company is financially unstable to undertake the work of the full stretch.
He said that the re-tendering process won’t take much time and hence it will also not affect the progress of the metro rail construction.
Other contractors, including L&T, have already completed construction of over 500 piles, and another contractor Soma has built 150 piles.
The shifting of KWA pipeline and other major works have further delayed the work.