TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Rising cost of bitumen and ingredient for hot mixing roads could impact government’s plans to restore major, minor roads and highways from November 15 onwards.
The impact is two-fold ~ financial and technical. Financially the cost of projects enlisted for execution from next month is likely to go up by an additional 20 per cent, while contractors may also shy away from carrying out tendered works for road repairs and hot mixing since the tendered amount may no longer be profitable for them amidst rising material costs of material.
While contractors are shying away from construction works due to shortage of sand, reports suggest that they are also dropping road repair and hot mixing works fearing inability to execute works in lieu of escalating costs for hot mixing material.
During the last one month the PWD has communiqués sent by contractors who generally engage in road repair works and reinstatement works informing respective divisions that they cannot take up works already tendered due to the sharp rise in the cost of bitumen.
“The cost of a ton of bitumen is now Rs 55,000,” said Vivek Nagrajan a PWD contractor who was awarded more than four road works in South Goa.
This contractor said that at the time of the tendering process the cost of bitumen was between Rs 43,000 to Rs 45,000 a ton.
“Today the cost is so high that it is not possible to execute the work on the tendered rate,” he said.
Like Nagrajan, several contractors are worried and prefer not to take up the works in November even as the PWD is determined to have both urban and rural roads repaired and reinstated before the election code is enforced.
Principal Chief Engineer PWD J S Rego and his division heads for road repairs are optimistic that the contractors would take up road works after November 15, most contractors whom Herald has spoken to seem to have a clear line of abandoning their projects.
A senior official in the PWD said, “There is a certain section of contractors who will find it hard to take on works especially those who have bid low and bagged the tenders.”
“Those who have not compromised on the rates should not have a problem,” this official said.
Minister for PWD Ramkarishna Sudin Dhavalikar, who is aware of the ground realities said, “In case contractors are not willing to take up the works we will re-tender the same,” adding that the government still has time till November 15 to process fresh tenders.
The PWD ministry however fears that project costs may have to be enhanced by 20 per cent or more due to rise in cost of bitumen or due to withdrawal of contractors from already tendered works.
Dhavalikar said that the PWD ministry is facing a problem this year due to the rising dollar which has had a financial impact on cost of bitumen.
The PWD reportedly spends close to Rs 250 crore annually on bitumen for hot mixing roads.
