VIJAYAWADA: Cost of construction of the permanent Secretariat proposed in Amaravati is set to come down by approximately 15 percent, thanks to the presence of hard rock at just seven metres under the ground, as opposed to the expected 20-30 metres. Besides monetary benefit, the officials said, the presence of rock at an upper level in the ground would also bring down the construction period of the ‘iconic structure’ by four months.
The news has come as a shot in the arm for AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) which wants to ensure the completion of as many projects as possible before the 2019 elections.
The CRDA officials explained that the projects in Amaravati cost 12-16 percent higher compared to other cities, as the contractors had to go for pile foundation. “Now, straight away, we can do away with the pile foundation as the geomorphological studies done by various agencies confirmed that there is rock at just seven metres below the ground, where the Heads of the Department (HODs) building of the permanent secretariat is going to be built. This will bring the project cost down by around 15 percent. More importantly, the construction will be done faster than expected,” CRDA additional commissioner S Shan Mohan told TNIE.
The ‘iconic structure’ is expected to cost around Rs. 2,200 crore, and the CRDA had already invited the tenders for the five-building secretariat in April. While the first building will have 46 storeys, the other four will have 40 floors each. The Chief Ministers Office will be housed on the 46th floor of the first building.
“The execution works will begin shortly as we are going to finalise the tenders by June 29. Before 2019 elections, we will definitely have the superstructure of the HODs building ready,” Shan Mohan said.
When asked what other structures the CRDA was confident of completing before the elections, another official said that the judicial complex coming up in Nelapadu would be ready.
The houses for officials and public representatives will be ready by February 2019, and their keys will also be handed over, he said. The roads will be done by March, 2019.
“The six-floor-Project Office, which will house CRDA, Amaravati Development Corporation Ltd. and other such offices, will also be operational. The superstructure of permanent High Court will also be up. So, about half a dozen structures will be up and operational by the elections,” the official said.
Deadline?not ‘hard’
Hard rock present just 7 feet under the ground
Construction period to go down by 4 months
CM office to be on the 46th floor of the first building
Super structure of the HODs building to be ready before 2019 elections
‘Complete judicial complex by dec’
Vijayawada: The commissioner of AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), Cherukuri Sreedhar, has directed the Judicial Complex contractor to complete the project by December, 2018. He said that the complex, which would house the High Court on an interim basis, will be handed over to the court officials immediately after construction. Sreedhar, on Tuesday, held a review meeting on the project site in Nelapadu, and set June-end as the target for the completion of pile foundation.
“The first slab of the Judicial Complex should be ready by August and the second and third, by September,” he said. A strategy should be prepared to ensure that work does not get affected during the rainy season, he added.
The commissioner also visited the residential towers being built for officials and public representatives. On the occasion, the contracting firm representatives explained that stilt slab work would be completed by June-end. “From June 30, the concrete work, using Mivan technology, would commence,” the representatives informed the commissioner. Sreedhar told the contracting agencies to mobilise more workforce, if necessary, to complete the work by the deadline stipulated in the agreement.