THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the government yet to take a call on accepting the higher bid amount quoted for the proposed flyover at Sreekaryam, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), the implementing agency, will hold talks with the public works department (PWD) and Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) to find a solution and move ahead with the initiative.
The 535-m-long flyover has been proposed as part of the metro rail project in Thiruvananthapuram. The bidding firm quoted an amount 18% higher than the actual estimate, following which the government decided to take a call after scrutinising the tender documents. That was two months ago. KIIFB has to finalise the fund for completing the project.
“We will hold talks with the PWD and KIIFB, the two key stakeholders of the project, to sort out the issue to ensure proceeding with the tender quoted by the contractor,” KMRL MD Loknath Behera told TNIE. He said they will soon hold talks with the government so that the bid amount can be accepted so as to ensure the start of the construction at the earliest. “The contractor has prior experience. Hence, we will speed up the proceedings and construction can be started soon,” Behera said.
Demolition of all acquired buildings at Sreekaryam as part of the flyover project is already over. The razing of two government buildings – a corporation office and a village office – which has been pending for months will begin soon as auction for the demolition work is over.
A total of 168 buildings were razed as part of land acquisition for the flyover. The district administration has acquired 1.34 hectares from 168 private parties in Cheruvakkal, Ulloor, and Pangappara villages. Once the metro project is implemented, the rail pillars will be built on the flyover’s median.
The flyover is expected to be commissioned within two years. Since the stretch is already wide, the revenue department had to acquire only 23 cents of land.
The government had in 2016 green-lit construction of flyovers at Sreekaryam, Pattom, and Ulloor for a total cost of `272 crore as part of the metro rail project. As per land acquisition rules, the compensation for the plots acquired for the Sreekaryam flyover has been fixed at `21 lakh per cent for those who surrendered property willingly, and `18 lakh per cent for others.
Soil testing begins
Soil testing as part of the field survey by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is progressing rapidly in the capital. The field survey is the preliminary step for preparing the DPR (detailed project report), covering a total of 41km, including the alignment proposed via NH 66.
Earlier, the Alternative Analysis Report (AAR) for the metro project suggested implementing a conventional or medium model on the lines of the Kochi Metro. KMRL will scrutinise the DPR by DMRC in January, which will then be submitted to the state government and later sent to the Centre for final approval. The previous DPR, released in 2018, will be revised due to the development work that took place in the city in the past five years.
Earlier, there was a proposal to implement a light metro, or metro lite, in Thiruvananthapuram. The plan was dropped and it was decided to implement the medium metro owing to the development that took place in Thiruvananthapuram in the past five years. The AAR was completed and submitted to the KMRL by the CMP this August. It suggested a comprehensive overhaul of the traffic system and parking facilities and also identified high-demand mobility corridors in the district for the proposed system.
BID TALKS