NH-17 widening project across the State
The lockdown relaxation plan for Goa has brought relief to the stalled widening project of National Highway 17, work that came to a standstill since Janata Curfew on March 22. The work of multiple stretches of NH17 between Patradevi and Pollem, NH 66 from Patradevi to Verna and NH4 had come to a screeching halt since the nationwide Janata Curfew was announced followed by lockdown.
Reliable sources said that the Public Works Department (PWD) will recommence the work at certain sections, based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, from the coming week.
“The MHA issued guidelines on April 15 listing details of relaxation in certain activities/projects. Some construction activities come under the relaxation plan and hence we are scheduled to resume NH work along certain stretches, based on the guidelines,” a senior officer, closely monitoring the NH project, told Herald.
With Goa already facing shortage of manpower considering that many of them are from other states, the official said, that Goa has sufficient number of workers including labourers. “All those workers who have been involved in the NH project are in Goa. So there is no question of shortage of manpower or possibility of bringing them from another state, which is currently banned,” he added. Social distancing will be the priority at the time of carrying out the pending works, the official added.
The ensuing resumption of the work will not only bring respite to the government but also daily wagers who are dependent on income through the construction activities. The halt of work for about a month nevertheless brought a huge respite to residents particularly along Patradevi to Guirim, as the work had made the area susceptible to accidents.
In 2017, when the NH 17 widening work was awarded by the PWD, the project cost was estimated at Rs 1,487 crores. It included expansion of the two lane structures to four lanes, besides vehicular underpass all along the highway.
Whereas Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in January 2020, had directed officials and contractors to expedite the NH-66 work, so as to complete the work by year end. It is also learnt through sources that the CM will review the works to ensure meeting the deadline and if possible set a new time limit, for projects which have missed the previous deadline.
Greenfield International airport at Mopa
After a halt of almost a month owing to the lockdown in view of COVID-19 pandemic, the construction work of the Greenfield International Airport at Mopa is all set to resume from Monday, April 20. As per the new deadline, the first phase of the airport, will commission from May 31, 2022.
The work of the Mopa airport, which was partially commissioned following the Supreme Court (SC) restoring the Environmental Clearance (EC) for the project in January, this year, with strict conditions, came to grinding halt on March 22, when the Janta Curfew was imposed nationwide, following by national lockdown from March 25.
The Apex Court had initially stopped construction work of the project in January, 2019, followed by suspension of the EC in March, last year.
Speaking to HERALD, Director Civil Aviation Suresh Shanbhogue said that the construction work of the airport will resume from Monday, April 20. “Fortunately, all the work force, that is over 440 workers, including labourers and engineers, are at the site (Pernem) at present,” he said.
“Also, we have other labourers, too, who can be roped in as per the requirement,” Shanbhogue said.
Stating that extension would be granted to the Concessionary-GAR Goa, for whatever period has been lost, the Director said that the new deadline for completion of the first phase is December 2021, while the first flight will take off from the airport on Mary 31, 2022.
The three-year construction period of phase-I began from September 4, 2017 with the commercial operations date fixed on September 3, 2020.
So far, only 5-6 per cent physical work at the site has taken place. The estimated cost of the project is nearly Rs 4,000 crore.
Shanbhogue added that the contractor will have to ensure that all the precautions against COVID-19 outbreak are taken at the site, including social distancing, sanitisation and hygiene. “Workers will have to cover their face with masks or clean clothes. Social distancing will be maintained and screening on regular intervals would be done,” he explained.
New Zuari Bridge set to get a new deadline
The nationwide lockdown and its expansion till May 3, 2020 has further delayed the work of the new parallel Zuari bridge. The lockdown has affected the progress of work, which has come to a standstill due to the non-availability of its usually large workforce.
Further, there has been a delay in procuring the requisite material, monitoring system and bringing the experts, who were supposed to come to Goa to work on this project. This has been due to the central government’s decision to cancel all e-visas and the restrictions imposed on air, sea and road transport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When contacted, Atul Joshi, Dy Director of Dilip Buildcon Pvt ltd said, “the entire project work has come to standstill. No work is ongoing as the nationwide lockdown is in force. No workforce is working on ground due to the lockdown.
When asked when the work is expected to resume, Joshi stated that it will be difficult to give an exact date about the resumption of the project work. But he added that once the guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs with regards to their project comes up, the work could be resumed on a minor scale.
It maybe recalled that the company was about to start work on installing equipment and cables for installing the superstructure of the bridge and the same along with experts were expected to come from China and France.