The commencement of Chennai Metro Rail operations may be delayed as seven stations are incomplete. With the old contract being cancelled, there has been no response for fresh tenders floated by CMRL.
Though the plan was to get the stretch from Koyambedu to Alandur functional by the end of the year, seven stations including Koyambedu, CMBT, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekkatuthangal and Alandur await completion.
After CMRL terminated the contract of Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited (CCCL) late in January for the delay in the completion of these stations, there have been no takers for the rest of the work. CMRL had floated tenders in February but there was no response from other contractors, officials said. Now, CMRL has once again called for tenders.
Contractors are hesitating as they think it may be expensive and difficult to complete the remaining work, an official said. The successful bidder is expected to finish the work in six months, a task which might otherwise take a year-and-a-half, he added.
CMRL has classified small jobs in each of the stations and asked a few contractors to do the same to keep at least a minor portion of the work in progress, the official said.
Vibrations in LIC building
Around 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, employees of LIC came rushing down from the building as they felt vibrations. Meanwhile, officials said they didn’t know what caused the vibrations in the building as the tunnel boring machine (TBM) is yet to reach the LIC station. At present, underground station work is in progress opposite the LIC building and officials say this may not have caused the vibrations.
