THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) has issued a stop memo to the construction of Cochin Cancer Research Centre. This follows an inspection by the technical wing of the board after the collapse of an under-construction building.
KIIFB chief executive officer K M Abraham said that the inspection found serious irregularities in the execution of the concreting work. “Instead of the stipulated materials, the scaffolding was done using bamboo poles. The ground was not properly strengthened before the scaffolding was erected,” he said. Besides the anomalies in formwork, around five other faults were detected in the construction.
The KIIFB has found serious lapses on the part of the contractor and supervisory lapses on the part of INKEL, the SPV for the project. KIIFB said the stop memo will be lifted only after the mistakes are rectified.
“The rectification list will be prepared after a detailed examination. It will be prepared at the earliest considering the importance of the institution. But, there will not be a compromise on the safety aspects,” he said. Two months ago, KIIFB had asked INKEL to remove the contractor owing to quality issues and delay in work. During the routine project intervention meeting, KIIFB asked INKEL to re-tender the project.