[Assam] Railways not to delay Bogibeel bridge: Velu (The Assam Tribune, 04.07.2007)

[Buljit Buragohain]

                Railways not to delay Bogibeel bridge: Velu
>From Ron Duarah
 DIBRUGARH, July 3 – Union Minister of State for Railways Ramasamy Velu today told The Assam Tribune that the Rs 2200 crore Bogibeel bridge project would not be allowed to be delayed. “Our Government has announced Bogibeel as a national project, which shows our sincerity for the North East... minor obstacles in commissioning the project shall be overcome this month,” he said.

Velu said all railway projects in the country are facing cost overruns due to escalating prices of cement and steel, and that this factor has affected Bogibeel too. He has convened a meeting of top railway engineers to sort out the issue, and has scheduled this for July 9. He informed that the Member (Engineering) of the Railway Board has been requested to work out modalities by which national railway projects can be completed within the fixed schedules.

Meanwhile, the Dibrugarh MP, Sarbananda Sonowal has also met Velu at his office in New Delhi this afternoon, where the Bogibeel project was discussed at length. He told this reporter that the Minister appeared sincere in his commitment of railway development in the North East. The MP informed the Minister that the public opinion in Assam is for speedy completion of the Bogibeel project as well as other railway development projects in the northeast.

A former IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Velu said the common man should not be bogged down by technicalities, and that technical issues like extending the validity of a global tender is within the realm of possibility. The validity of the global tender for the Bogibeel bridge sub-structure, estimated to cost Rs 322 crore as per 2004 prices has lapsed in April this year. This put a big question mark over the time bound commissioning of the 4.3 kilometre double lane BG track and three lane national highway bridge. Asked if the whole process of re-floating the global tender would not push the bridge completion date by three years, Velu said that certain mechanisms would be put in place which would prevent any time delays. He also said that the fresh tender would be put on a fast track and that this would take into consideration factors like rise in the prices of all inputs. “We would see to it that current market prices of ingredients are factored in, so that contractors
 cannot site this as a matter for future arbitration,” he said.

The Bogibeel bridge sub-structure tender was allotted to a PSU, Hindustan Construction Corporation after a keenly contested global tender. The company backed out of the work after the Railways refused to consider a higher price for the project, in the light of rising prices of cement and steel. The company’s engineers told this reporter in private that the work of the sub structure would cost a minimum of Rs 400 crore, at June 2007 market prices of key ingredients.

The proposed meeting on July 9 at New Delhi would be attended by top railway engineers, where the Government would push for scheduled completion of the national projects. It is likely – as Velu has pointed out – that price increases of commodities like cement and steel would be favourably considered with a bias towards the contractor(s). If this is indeed taken as a matter of policy in view of market realities, several railway projects may eventually be spared expensive cost overruns. This may also result in the actual commissioning of the Bogibeel bridge by the year 2011.
            


















        


















  
(The Assam Tribune,04.07.2007)
 			
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