As if the five-year-long wait was not enough, commuters have to brace for a delay up to July 2018 to use the Chennai Metro Rail stretch on Anna Salai.
In reply to an RTI query filed by The Hindu , as to what the scheduled date of completion for stations along Anna Salai was, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) responded saying its deadline was July 31, 2018.
In seven stations — Government Estate, LIC, Thousand Lights, AG-DMS, Teynampet, Nandanam and Saidapet — that fall in this stretch, only half the work has been completed in five years since construction began. While in Government Estate, LIC and Thousand Lights, only 48 per cent of the work has been complete, in the remaining stations — Nandanam, Teynampet, Saidapet and AG-DMS — about 55 per cent is over.
CMRL states that in these stations, “portions of diaphragm wall, plunge columns, installations of king posts and casting of slabs, etc are complete so far.” In the recent session of Lok Sabha, it was stated the project’s expected date of completion is December 2016.
This stretch ran into trouble when the contractor Gammon India failed to meet deadlines and hence the contract was terminated. In 2011, Gammon India and Russian firm Mosmetrostroy were given a contract worth Rs. 1,947 crore for design and construction of stations along Anna Salai. But Mosmetrostroy left the project last year owing to financial crisis and subsequently, Gammon India’s contract too was terminated.
Soon after that, CMRL called for tenders twice, split this stretch into two parts and then the contracts were awarded one after another sometime back. While L&T has been carrying out construction of stations, Afcons Infrastructure Limited has finished tunnelling in one portion.
