MoRTH demands 50% of cost for bypass-airport connectivity

  • | Thursday | 21st September, 2017

Even if the State agrees to share the cost, officials say the chances of completing the 1.67 km in the remaining period is bleak. As per the inked Engineering, Procurement Construction (EPC) contract, only 20% cost escalation of the ?623.41 crore (cost of Kazhakuttam-Mukkola NH 66 bypass) is permitted. Continuous delayThe decision has surprised even the project officials as this is for the first time that the MoRTH is demanding 50% of the cost of a project being executed by the NHAI in the State. The proposed connectivity from the Chakka-Eenchakkal corridor of the Kazhakuttam-Mukkola NH 66 bypass to Thiruvananthapuram international airport has run into rough weather with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) demanding 50% of the estimated cost of ?142 crore. The MoRTH’s decision for cost-sharing of the airport connectivity has been communicated to Chief Secretary K.M.

more-in The proposed connectivity from the Chakka-Eenchakkal corridor of the Kazhakuttam-Mukkola NH 66 bypass to Thiruvananthapuram international airport has run into rough weather with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) demanding 50% of the estimated cost of ?142 crore. A communication in this regard from MoRTH reached the regional office of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) when the project officials were awaiting a decision from the MoRTH on the the proposal submitted by the State for an unidirectional flyover on the Eenchakkal-Chakka corridor of the bypass. The MoRTH’s decision for cost-sharing of the airport connectivity has been communicated to Chief Secretary K.M. Abraham and the State government has to take a call, a top official of the NHAI told The Hindu here. As per the inked Engineering, Procurement Construction (EPC) contract, only 20% cost escalation of the ?623.41 crore (cost of Kazhakuttam-Mukkola NH 66 bypass) is permitted. Already, an additional ?60 crore has been utilised for works such as vehicular underpass and drains and an equal amount is needed for the remaining works that have not figured in the detailed project report (DPR). This seems to be the reason for cost-sharing. Continuous delay The decision has surprised even the project officials as this is for the first time that the MoRTH is demanding 50% of the cost of a project being executed by the NHAI in the State. The road work on the 1.67-km corridor has been hit for the last one-and-a-half years owing to the delay on the part of the State, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and the NHAI in finalising the design and getting approval from the Centre. As the NHAI is yet to fix the alignment of the road corridor, the EPC contractor has not been able to take up the works, though the roundabout at Chakka was demolished. The remaining four-laning work on the 26.7-km stretch from Kazhakuttam to Mukkola is in the final phase. Citing the delay, the Hyderabad-based KNR Constructions Ltd, the EPC contractor, has asked for an extension of the 24-month deadline ending in November. Even if the State agrees to share the cost, officials say the chances of completing the 1.67 km in the remaining period is bleak. The fear is whether the NHAI will skip the 1.67 km to complete Reach I in November. Then, the busy stretch will turn a bottleneck for motorists and entry to and exit from the airport too will not be easy.

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