A high-level meeting convened by Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas on Tuesday decided to initiate steps to restart the construction of the Nerekadavu-Makkekadavu bridge over Vembanad Lake connecting Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.
The bridge construction, which got under way in 2016, remains stalled after the construction firm sought to revise the estimate due to cost escalation. Officials said the meeting entrusted secretaries of the Public Works and Finance departments to look into the matter. The construction firm reportedly sought additional ₹44 crore for completing the bridge construction. However, as per the government assessment, ₹25 crore would be enough to complete the rest of the work. Officials, meanwhile, did not rule out inviting fresh tender for the work if the issue was not resolved.
The bridge is part of the Thuravoor-Pampa highway. The ₹99-crore project was scheduled to be completed in 18 months. However, the bridge work came to a halt midway due to a delay in acquiring land for the construction of approach roads on both sides. Though the land acquisition was completed last year following a High Court directive, the construction firm sought to revise the estimate due to cost escalation.
The Nerekadavu-Makkekadavu bridge will have a length of 800 metres. Of the total 22 spans, two are navigation spans in the middle, each having a length of 47.16 metres. The construction of navigation spans has almost been completed. The bridge will have footpaths on both sides with a width of 1.5 metres. The approach roads each will have a length of 60 metres.
The meeting also reviewed other Public Works department projects in the district. Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, District Collector Haritha V. Kumar, MLAs P.P. Chitharanjan, Daleema Jojo, Thomas K. Thomas, U. Prathibha, H. Salam, and others attended the meeting.
