Const Material Price Rise Slows Thiruvananthapuram Smart City Projects

Major infrastructure projects under the Smart City project in the city have either been slowed down or temporarily halted owing to steep rise in cement and steel prices. The private firms which took up projects involving civil components have communicated to Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL) regarding revision of estimate. The sharp escalation in prices of steel and cement has forced the firms to demand the cost escalation from SCTL. In the past one month, price of steel has gone up by Rs 3,000-3,500 per tonne while 50kg weighing cement sack price increased by Rs 80-100. This has rattled the estimate plans of the firms which had won the bid “Many of our contractors have asked for price escalation. We have put a letter to the finance department also asking for special exemption to smart city works as works need to be carried out in a mission mode,” said SCTL CEO Vinay Goyal. SCTL officials said that it wouldn’t be feasible to give a cost escalation as it would go against the conditions in tender agreement. Chances of a consensus regarding the cost escalation looks grim and this would further delay the projects and SCTL may be forced to extend the timelines. The works on multilevel car parking project (MLCP) at Palayam and Thampanoor have been badly affected by the rise in steel and cement prices. MLCP at Thampanoor was awarded at Rs 18.8 crore. The project is in piling stage and 47 out of 254 piles have been completed. As regarding the construction of MLCP at Palayam A block, the work was awarded at Rs 30 crore. The test pile has just started for this project. Smart road projects have already been affected by incessant showers and rise in cement prices has added to the woes. MLCPs at Palayam and Thampanoor were expected to address the parking concerns in two busy stretches in the city. The project at Thampanoor envisages a G+4 storeyed smart parking system for 22 cars and around 400 bike parking. The quotation for MLCP at Palayam was fixed as inclusive of cost of labour and material including wastage, tools and tackles, setting equipment and transport, hoisting, setting, fitting and fixing in position, preparation of drawings etc for the full execution and completion of work. The multi-level over ground multigrain parking system should have independent motor-operated vertical and horizontal movement of the platforms/pallets with wire rope, chain and geared motors as per site requirements or any other appropriate equivalent technology, as per the scope of the work.