KOCHI: The move to upgrade the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (JLN) in Kochi as the third solar-powered stadium in the country after Mumbai Brabourne Cricket Stadium and Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium seems to have hit a roadblock.
The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) which had proposed to install the solar panels at a cost of Rs 4 crore and commission it by January this year is now clueless on taking up the project. The huge amount required for the maintenance of the roof of the stadium is learnt to be derailing the solar project.
As per the sources, the GCDA is still running from pillar to post to complete the paperwork required for installing the solar panels. "The earlier plan was to commission the solar project by January. Based on that, GCDA sought the help of CIAL Infrastructure Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), to prepare the project report. The project to install the solar panels was, in fact, started without consulting experts. The authority later came to understand the present roof had to be strengthened to install the solar panels which needed a huge amount. Though tenders were floated to appoint a consultant for roof maintenance work, no one turned up," said a source.
The GCDA planned to generate one megawatt of power by installing solar panels in an area of 30,000 sq feet atop the stadium aimed at producing 1.2 lakh units of electricity a month. At present, the stadium consumes around 3,7095 units of power every month. For this alone, GCDA is spending nearly Rs 2.6 lakh a month, the source said.
"The project report is not ready yet. Only after that, the paperwork and tender proceedings can be started," said the source. Despite the hurdles of finding a consultant for the maintenance of the roof, GCDA chairman VA Saleem expressed confidence of commissioning the project within six months.
"Some procedures have to be followed while taking up such a project. The permission of the local self-government institution and the government is essential to start such a project. Only when we started the primary work of the project, we came to know that the roof needed to be strengthened to install the solar panel," said Saleem.