BANGALORE: Will Namma Metro get onto a fast track or be delayed further? This question looms large with the withdrawal of around 25 per cent of the civil works contract given to Navayuga Engineering Company (NEC) by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
BMRCL on Saturday issued a notice to NEC withdrawing works worth around Rs 30 to 35 crore, out of the total works worth around Rs 140 crore. The reason for the withdrawal is delay in execution by the contractor, said BMRCL officials. The notice came in accordance with a decision taken by the board of BMRCL.
Now, to execute the work withdrawn from NEC, a new contractor would be identified for which fresh tenders would be issued.
Work would not start before all the related formalities are complete and the contract was awarded.
However, BMRCL officials promise that work would not be adversely affected.
“The reason for withdrawing the earlier contract and looking for a new contractor is to pace up the civil works. There is no room for any further delay in works.
We will identify a new contractor as soon as possible and try to start fresh work, after completion of all form a l i t i e s, w i t h i n two months. We might opt for a short-term tender,” an official at BMRCL said.
Moreover, the two contractors, NEC and the new one, will work in tandem to finish works on Reach I (Byappanahalli to Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium) on time. Transferring around 25 per cent of NEC’s work to another agency would speed up the work, BMRCL indicated.
Reason for withdrawal
The substantial backlog in works and default in performance are the reasons for withdrawal of a part of the contract, BMRCL said. As on January 31, the contractor had substantially defaulted in the performance of casting of segments for viaducts and also the launching of segments on MG Road. In spite of repeated notices to finish the backlog works, the contractor had not responded satisfactorily, a BMRCL official said.
Out of the target of 23 spans, only two had been completed by January, while only 275 segments had been cast out of the target of 540.
The Reach-I is expected to be completed by July 2010.
Contract for casting 584 segments from pier 1 to pier 26 (Byappanahalli to Old Madras Road station — a length of 652 metres) and from pier 117 to pier 154 (S.V. Road to Trinity Circle — a length of 1,028 metre) and also launching of segments in these stretches have been withdrawn.
NEC ’s reaction
A senior official at NEC said that the BMRCL had made NEC the scapegoat to hide its deficiency. The delay was caused because BMRCL did not release land to NEC on time and also did not provide NEC with adequate working space on certain stretches.
Moreover, the contract for building the stations was issued only last month, with a completion period of 22 months. NEC’s civil works contract was issued in January 2007. Unless the stations are built, there would be no continuity in work and the stretch could not be completed.
Hence, the delay in casting spans and launching segments has not delayed the process.