Finish metro work early, get Rs 5 lakh: MMRDA
The move is aimed to prevent crucial Metro projects in MMR from getting delayed.
Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has announced that contractors who complete their civil works for the proposed Metro corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) before deadline henceforth would be entitled to be getting a per day compensation (bonus) of Rs 5 lakh.
The move is aimed to prevent crucial Metro projects in MMR from getting delayed. “The compensation matrix is such that a maximum of eight per cent of the project cost can be awarded as bonus for early completion to contractors depending on the number of days. The clause of awarding bonus has been added in the bid documents that were recently floated for two Metro projects and the same would be the practise while bids would be floated in future,” said a senior MMRDA official.
The new clause will be introduced and implemented in all the proposed Metro corridors in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), expect the Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2A and Dahisar (east)-Andheri (east) Metro-7 corridors as works for these two corridors were issued in May 2016.
The new clause would also have a negative impact. While the MMRDA will be giving incentives for completion of work well before time, a penalty would be levied on those flouting the deadline.
“In case of Metro-2A and Metro-7, 10 per cent of the total project cost would be the maximum penalty for delays. It is known as liquidity damages. However, the contractor will not be penalised in case the delay happens due to the implementing agency,” added the MMRDA official.
Meanwhile, the trend of giving incentives to the contractors for finishing work before deadlines is not new. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had practised the same in the past by for construction of Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
The MMRDA has proposed to construct a network of 172-km-long Metro corridors in the MMR. Contractors for Metro-2A and Metro-7 have already been appointed.
However, bids for construction DN Nagar-Mankhurd Metro-2B and Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro-4 were floated in January 2017. The deadline for these two projects is 2022.