This story is from January 24, 2021

Cost estimate to restore Airport-Shangumugham road goes up by nearly 50% within a year

A year after administrative sanction was given to restore Airport-Shangumugham road which got badly damaged owing to heavy monsoon and strong coastal erosion, the project estimate has been revised for the second time. The total project cost for two phases of the work has gone up from the initial estimate of Rs 5.39 crore to Rs 8.05 crore.
Cost estimate to restore Airport-Shangumugham road goes up by nearly 50% within a year
The total project cost for restoring Airport-Shangumugham road has gone up from the initial estimate of Rs 5.39 crore to Rs 8.05 crore
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A year after administrative sanction was given to restore Airport-Shangumugham road which got badly damaged owing to heavy monsoon and strong coastal erosion, the project estimate has been revised for the second time. The total project cost for two phases of the work has gone up from the initial estimate of Rs 5.39 crore to Rs 8.05 crore.
The latest revision in estimate follows a letter from chief engineer (roads), PWD.
As per the letter, the work was awarded to a contractor in August 2020. As a result of the heavy sea attack at the site, scouring occurred and damage of the road extended up to the central line of the road.
The soil beneath the road completely eroded which necessitated prohibition of traffic along the road. Since the sea waves reached the underside of the road, it badly affected the stability of the road.
He further reported that there was more than 50m sea shore when the estimate was prepared, and it was lost subsequently during July 2020, which could not be anticipated at the time of preparation of initial estimates, notes the order issued revising the project cost.
The chief engineer reported that in the meeting held in September 2020 to assess the situation, it was suggested by Central Road Research Institute that additional items such as capping beam and earth filling and temporary protection wall using sheet pile along the shore need to be done for the construction of diaphragm wall, resulting in the estimate of phase 1 works being revised to Rs 6.39 crore.
PWD requested the Rebuild Kerala initiative-implementation committee to approve the revised estimate citing that any delay in the progress of the work will aggravate the situation and increase the financial commitment as favourable climate exists only for 3 to 4 months, beyond which the sea again will become furious and damage will be more.

The RKI-implementation committee held a meeting in January 2021 and approved the revised estimate considering the urgency of timely completion of the work. The committee recommended the proposal of revised estimate for the consideration of the high-level empowered committee (HLEC) of the RKI.
The chief engineer reiterated that the work to be executed was close to sea shore and favourable season available for the work would be limited and would expire shortly.
He also reported that the contractor had made necessary arrangements for proceeding with the work for construction of diaphragm wall and stressed the need to approve revised estimate at the earliest.
Earlier in 2020, the estimate for second phase, which was initially fixed at Rs 1.1 crore, had to be revised following a report from chief engineer, PWD, who pointed out that the estimate for phase 2 was inadequate for proper completion of the work and an additional amount of Rs 56 lakh was sought for the reconstruction of the damaged road.
The high-level empowered committee of Rebuild Kerala initiative approved the revised estimate and put forward conditions that PWD shall explore possible interventions to reduce the rate of coastal erosion and to protect the coast from erosion in future and that any engineering interventions shall be carried out to ensure a climate-resilient road, keeping the beach accessible.
Based on the recommendation of high level empowered committee, the government revised the estimate of restoration of Airport-Shangumugham beach road from Rs 5.39 crore to Rs 5.95 crore.
In 2018, the government decided to restore the road by sourcing an amount of Rs 4.5 crore from the development policy loan of the World Bank. The detailed project report prepared by PWD estimated that work can be done in two phases at a cost of Rs 5.39 crore.
As per the initial plan, phase 1 ought to have been completed by September 9, 2020, and phase 2 in 45 days by September 15, 2020. The project aims at completing the retaining structure in phase 1. The structure is designed as diaphragm wall as per the studies conducted by the expert agency CRRI, New Delhi. In phase 2, the reconstruction of road was planned to be completed.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA