Chennai Metro Rail Ltd.’s much-awaited phase II construction work may start in three months.
Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) plans to take up the work at many locations simultaneously. It wants to first start operations between Poonamallee and Power House, which is an elevated 12-km stretch, and subsequently from Madhavaram to CMBT and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur, which will have a combination of elevated and underground sections running to 52 km.
According to CMRL officials, tenders had been floated for the construction of these stretches last year and the contractors finalised. “But there is something called ‘Letter of Acceptance’, which is a formal contract document indicating we are issuing the contract to a respective firm. We will issue it after May 15 when the Election Code of Conduct ends. After that, it will take a month for them to mobilise a team and then establish a site office at the respective work sites,” an official said.
After getting the letter of acceptance, the contractors would have to redo a survey for finding out where cables and pipelines run underneath.
Traffic diversion
Meanwhile, traffic diversion will have to finalised in this time.
CMRL wants to start operations between Poonamallee and Power House by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Sources say that unless they meet every single deadline, this project will be challenging to finish on time.
