Centre approves ₹371.88 cr to resume work on bridge to connect South Andaman & Baratang
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New Delhi: The Centre has approved an enhanced project cost of Rs 371.88 crore thereby paving the way for the resumption of work on the much-delayed bridge over Middle Strait connecting South Andaman with Baratang Island famous for its limestone caves.
A National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd (NHIDCL) official said that the two-lane carriageway work would be completed in 22 months and the builder shall maintain the project highway for 10 years under defect liability period.
The bridge over Middle Strait Creek is part of crucial National Highway 04, also called Andaman Trunk Road, which is regarded as lifeline of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It will connect south Andaman with Baratang Islands in the north and middle Andaman district. Its key feature is that it will replace the existing crossover through ferries, thus providing seamless traffic movement to reduce travel time between the two islands by 45 minutes. “This should boost the socio-economic, cultural and tourism development in the north & middle Andaman districts,” said the official.
Work on the 1.96-km bridge, originally conceived in March 2015 at a cost of Rs 262.97 crores, started in 2019 with a scheduled completion in January 2022. However, due to deficient performance of the contractor Mantena-Vasishta Bridge JV and its failure to achieve milestones in a timely manner, the contract was terminated in June 2023. However, works amounting to Rs. 71.08 crores had been completed by the contractor until termination.
It was then decided by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, which is funding the project through budgetary support, to call for bids for the remaining part of the project. Five bids were received for the balance work tender and after technical and financial evaluation, the lowest bidder quote was Rs 207.99 crores, thereby taking the civil cost at Rs 279.08 crores.
The justifications for the higher cost for balance works are mainly due to inflation and rate change where approximately 45 percent inflation has occurred since the original sanction was granted in 2015 and the current rates for balance work have been obtained from the bidders based on present condition of site and higher bidding prices for materials and services.
A prominent cause for the estimates shooting up is the shortage of aggregates in these islands. The stone quarries in south Andaman are closed since December 2022 and only one allocated quarry at Panchawati in middle Andaman is the main source of supply of aggregates to all the construction works in the islands.
Though NHIDCL has been allocated 12,000 cubic metres for the year from this quarry, it would not be sufficient to meet the requirement to complete the project. Considering the scarcity, the bidders have quoted taking into account the cost of procurement of aggregates from mainland that involves huge transport costs.
