Bihar: Fresh bidding for additional work on Ganga Path project

PATNA: Bihar State Road Development Corporation Limited (BSRDCL) has initiated fresh bidding process for the construction of 7km of elevated section of Ganga Path, commonly known as Ganga driveway. The bidding process has also been floated for construction of three approach roads to Ganga Path, connecting Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Kangan Ghat and Patna Ghat respectively.
Officials of BSRDCL, an executing agency of road construction department (RCD), said the fresh bidding process has been initiated for the four components of the project.Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd is executing rest of the project.
RCD principal secretary Amrit Lal Meena said the agency for executing four components of the project will commence works by January. As per the initial detailed project report, the total length of Ganga Path project is 20.53km, out of which the first 5.5km from Digha end is proposed to be constructed by raising the embankment, the 5.5km to 13.5km stretch on elevated surface and the remaining 7km on the embankment.
“As per the initial detailed project report (DPR), the stretch of Ganga driveway beyond Nauzar Ghat near Mahatma Gandhi Setu was proposed to be constructed by raising the embankment. However, it was later found in a study conducted by IIT- Roorkee that the river is shifting southward in this stretch. Thus, constructing the road by raising embankment was not found feasible,” Meena told TOI on Tuesday.
He added: “The present contractor, Navayuga Engineering, was asked to give estimates for the elevated stretch beyond Nauzar ghat. The firm has quoted around Rs800 crore, whereas the BSRDCL estimate is pegged for the same at around Rs593 crore. Similarly, Navayuga has quoted an estimated amount of Rs146 crore for construction of an approach road linking PMCH with Ganga Path, whereas the estimation for the same done by our engineers is around Rs146 crore. Accordingly, it was decided to initiate fresh bidding process to get the work executed with less outlay.”
Chief minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone for the Rs3,160-crore project at Digha Ghat on October 11, 2013. The initial deadline for the project was October 2018, which was extended to December 2019 and again to December 2020.
Meena said around 50% of the work on the Ganga Path being constructed by raising embankment between Digha Ghat and Collectorate Ghat has been completed, while 40 pillars are still to be constructed on the elevated stretch between Collectorate Ghat and Nauzar Ghat.