Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) Phase II project could be delayed by another six months or more as six tenders for construction of underground stations have been cancelled as the lowest bidders had quoted high prices.
The Hindu had first reported in October that the CMRL planned to cancel the tenders for the construction of underground stations in phase II.
With an estimated cost of ₹61,843 crore, the phase II construction began with work starting on corridor 4 between Poonamallee and Light House.
In the two other corridors, Madhavaram to SIPCOT (corridor 3) and Madhavaram to Shollinganallur (corridor 5), tender process was in various stages for some stretches and in some, the work had begun too.
For the stretch between Madhavaram and Taramani the tenders were awarded for tunnelling and work had begun.
Then, they floated bids for construction of the underground stations between Madhavaram and Taramani, a portion of corridor 5 and Kolathur to Nathamuni, a part of corridor 3.
As part of this, six tenders were floated in parts to monitor work better and ensure timely completion along the stretches of Madhavaram to Perambur, Ayanavaram to Kelly’s, KMC to Royapettah, Radhakrishnan Salai to Adyar, Adyar depot to Taramani and Kolathur to Nathamuni.
According to CMRL sources, the awards had to be cancelled as the three contractors who got six contracts had given very high quotes that surpassed the estimates. “After carefully deliberating for a few months, we decided to cancel these six tenders because they had quoted about 40% over the actual estimate. We found this unreasonable. We have to be cautious about how much we spend,” an official said.
CMRL will shortly call for fresh tenders for the construction of these underground stations. “This will alter the earlier deadlines. We will arrive at a revised deadline soon. We will certainly try to reduce the delay and see how soon the work can be completed,” another official said.
