The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set a 240-day deadline to complete the concretisation of roads in Phase 1. The deadline spans from October 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025. The BMC began this road concretisation project in January 2023, but only 30 per cent of the work has been completed so far.
The first phase covers 397 kilometres, whereas the second phase of the project includes 309 kilometres of roads. The project is part of the BMC's INR 6,000 crore road concretisation plan, which was unveiled by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2022.
On Tuesday, September 3, additional municipal commissioner Abhijeet Bangar led a review meeting regarding the progress of the road concretisation project. He noted that constructing cement concrete roads typically takes 30 to 45 days. This includes excavation, project execution, and restarting traffic.
To make sure of timely progress, the authority has directed road engineers to make a complete list of roads that require concretisation in each area. They are also asked to create a monthly schedule to keep the project on track. However, there are challenges in executing the concretisation process. Moving underground utilities and obtaining no-objection certificates from traffic police are some challenges.
As per reports, the BMC will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) next week. As per this MoU, IIT-B will supervise the quality and standards of the cement concretisation work. IIT-B will conduct concurrent audits, including visits to the Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) facility, and perform core testing and final audits to maintain high standards throughout the project.
The BMC is undertaking this project to tackle the city's pothole problem. The first phase's contracts, awarded last year, were worth INR 6,080 crore, making them the largest civic agreements to date. An additional INR 6,000 crore has been allocated for the second phase of road concretisation.
However, the BMC had earlier cancelled an INR 1,600 crore contract awarded to Roadways Solution Infra India Limited (RSIIL) for road construction in the island city. Fresh bids were invited, and a new contractor was selected. The work is set to begin on October 1.
Share
Tweet
