KOCHI: The Kochi metro work on the Jos Junction-Pettah stretch has suffered yet another blow, with the tender for civil work on the corridor getting cancelled, with only a single bidder responding to it.
The stage is now set for a retender, and the bidder will be finalised by March. The tender was invited in the last quarter of 2016 to build the metro viaduct and stations on the Jos Junction-Ernakulam Junction railway station and Vyttila Kunnara Park-Pettah stretches, with the option of extending it up to Thripunithura.
“Only a Ukranian firm which had joint venture partnership with an Indian firm responded to the tender. The DMRC’s estimate for the work was ₹280 crore, but the firm quoted approximately 55 % more, following which it was decided to go for retender,” metro sources said.
Fresh tenders were invited after Soma Constructions was partially offloaded from the Maharajas College Ground-Ernakulam Junction railway station stretch for seeking “high” rate revision following a three-year delay in land acquisition. Earlier, Era-Ranken was partially offloaded from the Vyttila Kunnara Park-Pettah stretch for inordinate delay in executing work.
While land acquisition is almost over on the first stretch, it is incomplete in the Champakkara-Pettah corridor.
Balanced cantilever
In the meantime, work on the 95-metre balanced cantilever portion of the metro viaduct that passes over railway lines at the Ernakulam Junction station is progressing. Piling is almost over, and the structure is expected to be completed by year end, metro sources said.
SA Road
Taking note of the slow pace of the metro’s civil work on SA Road, the DMRC is learnt to have issued notice to Soma Constructions to speed it up. “Following this, the metro agency’s Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan held talks with Soma Constructions chairman in Kochi a week ago. Issues like paucity of funds with Soma and subsequent delay in mobilising labour were discussed. It was decided to pump in funds and to resume work in full steam within a week,” sources said.
Girder launch and construction of stations along SA Road suffered inordinate delay due to labour shortage too.
