KOCHI: Clearing the clouds of uncertainty over the completion of the Vyttila and Kundannoor flyovers by the March deadline, the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) recently paid a major chunk of the arrears to the contractors of the flyovers.
Sreedhanya Constructions, the contractors of the Vyttila flyover, and Mary Matha Constructions, which is handling the Kundannoor flyover work, have received Rs 2 crore and Rs 9 crore, respectively, against a respective pending amount of Rs 9 crore and Rs 18 crore.
"We will now be able to speed up the works. Though we had been pushing ourselves to meet the deadline, the delay in getting funds was proving to be a hindrance," said a representative of Sreedhanya Constructions.
The representative said seven spans of the Vyttila flyover had been painted and they expected to complete the obligatory span work by the second week of February. Work on the sidewall and crash barrier will start simultaneously. At present, over 100 workers are toiling to complete the work on time,” said the representative.
The equipment for electrification and setting up signboards on the flyover have reached the city. Work on the approach road towards Aroor is in progress, while work on the approach road towards Palarivattom began on Friday. A representative of Mary Matha Constructions was also upbeat.
"The clearance of Rs 9 crore will prompt us to finish the work on the retaining wall within the deadline (March 11). As per the new design, we have increased the flyover’s height towards Aroor and the remaining work is progressing," said the representative.
Work on Vyttila flyover began on December 11, 2017, and May 2019 was set as the deadline. After this lapsed, the government extended the deadline to December 2019 and later to March 2020. "Confusion over laying Kochi Metro spans and other controversies marred our gumption and led to the change in deadlines. Instead of 24 months, we got only 18 months to finish the project. Clearance of a bill also took more than 45 days," said the Sreedhanya representative.
Vyttila flyover
Foundation stone laid: February 28, 2016
Work began: December 11, 2017
Estimated cost (including approach road): Rs 78.36 crore
Revised estimate: Rs 87.43 crore
Total length: 702.41m
Centre portion’s height: 8m
Total number of spans: 12
Largest span: 40m at the centre
Contractor: Sreedhanya Constructions
Works halted on: July 18, 2019
Kundannoor flyover
Foundation stone laid: February 28, 2016
Work began: March 12, 2018
Initial estimate: Rs 74.45 crore
Revised estimate: Rs 83.47 crore (Due to design change)
Total length: 445m
Centre span’s height: 6.5m
Total number of spans: 15
Largest span: 30m
Contractor: Mary Matha Constructions