As if the five-year long wait was not enough, commuters
have to brace for a delay up to July 2018 to use the Chennai Metro Rail
stretch on Anna Salai.
In reply to an RTI query filed by The Hindu,
as to what the scheduled date of completion for stations along Anna
Salai was, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) responded saying its
deadline was July 31, 2018.
In seven stations —
Government Estate, LIC, Thousand Lights, AG-DMS, Teynampet, Nandanam and
Saidapet — that fall in this stretch, only half the work has been
completed in five years since construction began. While in Government
Estate, LIC and Thousand Lights, only 48 per cent of the work has been
complete, in the remaining stations — Nandanam, Teynampet, Saidapet and
AG-DMS — about 55 per cent is over.
CMRL states that
in these stations, “portions of diaphragm wall, plunge columns,
installations of king posts and casting of slabs, etc are complete so
far”.
It is to be noted that in the recent session of
Lok Sabha, it was stated the project’s expected date of completion is
December 2016.
This stretch ran into trouble when
the contractor Gammon India failed to meet deadlines and hence the
contract was terminated. In 2011, Gammon India and Russian firm
Mosmetrostroy were given a contract worth Rs. 1,947 crore for design and
construction of stations along Anna Salai. But Mosmetrostroy left the
project last year owing to financial crisis and subsequently, Gammon
India’s contract too was terminated.
Soon after
that, CMRL called for tenders twice, split this stretch into two parts
and then the contracts were awarded one after another sometime back.
While L&T has been carrying out construction of stations, Afcons
Infrastructure Limited has finished tunnelling in one portion and
started work in the other.
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