Metro Rail work on the stretch between Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) and Chennai airport has been temporarily suspended due to a delay in the execution of work.
The contract for the work, which was awarded to Lanco Infratech Limited, was terminated on Monday.
Lanco Infratech Limited was awarded the contract for Rs. 178 crore in August 2011 for the construction of the elevated stretch between OTA and Chennai airport. It had completed only 30 percent of the work, missed the immediate deadline and was far behind meeting the final target set for April 2014, said officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
“There has been slow progress in the work; hence we decided to terminate the contract. Now, we have to call for tenders all over again and resume work which may take at least a few more months. The contractor will have to bear the cost incurred for the delay caused in the work,” said an official of CMRL.
The new contractor may be given time beyond April 2014 for the completion of the work, he added.
In addition to Metro work, Lanco Infratech Limited had also been engaged for the construction of a centre ramp inside the airport for the entry and exit of vehicles.
It had finished only a small section of the ramp which had caused traffic snarls inside the airport, said another official.
“Due to the incomplete construction of the ramp, several passengers arriving at the airport are forced to take a circuitous route to get to the departure terminals of the new domestic and international terminals. The vehicles take a longer time to exit and are forced to pay parking charges since the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has enforced a rule that a vehicle must enter and exit the airport within seven minutes. There is a severe overlap of the domestic and international passenger traffic on the incomplete ramp,” said an AAI official.
