The construction work on Madhavaram-Taramani corridor of Chennai Metro has been delayed by almost one and a half years.
The stretch is not expected to be completed until 2028.
The expansion of Metro Phase II is planned with a network length of 118.9 km with 128 stations.
It consists of three corridors, namely Corridor-3 from Madhavaram to SIPCOT (45.8 km), Corridor-4 from Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass (26.1 km), Corridor-5 from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (47 km).
Madhavaram to Taramani is an important stretch of the Madhavaram-SIPCOT corridor that passes through many important locations like Perambur, Chetpet, Nungambakkam, Gemini, Thousand Lights, Royapettah, Mandaiveli, Adyar, and Taramani.
The estimated cost of the Phase II project is Rs 63,246 crore.
A significant share of the funding for the project came as a loan from an international bank, but the loan conditions were strict, which required the modification of certain benchmarks to welcome more companies to participate.
This process was lengthy, and only a few months ago, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) received final approval from the bank.
CMRL officials have announced that the Madhavaram-Taramani stretch will be built underground. However, the construction of stations has been facing challenges due to tunnelling work, causing a setback.
The CMRL has divided the work to build stations between Madhavaram and Taramani into six tenders, to ensure quicker execution by contractors.
The six packages include Madhavaram to Perambur, Ayanavaram to Kellys, KMC to Royapettah, Radhakrishnan Salai to Adyar, Adyar to Taramani, and Kolathur to Nathamuni as per The Hindu report.
Tunnelling between Madhavaram and Taramani is progressing well, according to CMRL officials.
To build stations along this stretch, six tenders were floated in December 2021. Unfortunately, bidders had submitted exorbitant quotes, leading to the tender’s cancellation.
To overcome this issue, CMRL had to float new tenders and alter the loan to encourage more firms to bid and offer reasonable quotes.
According to CMRL officials, these measures will help streamline the bidding process and ensure timely completion of the project.
The tender process for choosing the contractors for the construction of stations along the designated area is almost complete, and officials expect to reveal the chosen personnel before this month’s end.