NEW DELHI: In a major policy change, the government has increased the time allowed for construction of 6-10 km bridges across rivers like Ganga and Brahmaputra to six years and 2.5-6 km bridges over Mahanadi and Godavari to five years.
Timelines have been revised from the current 24 to 30 months.Similarly, the construction period has been set at two years for national highway projects costing up to Rs 500 crore, 30 months for projects worth Rs 500-1,500 crore, and three years for works costing more than Rs 1,500 crore.The change to the “standard construction period” was made after a gap of 13 years, learning from past experience of how the average time to completion for New Hampshire projects was more than four years versus the standard timeline of 2.5 to 3 years.
The revised construction schedule will apply to all New Hampshire projects that go out to bid beginning May 6.In a circular, the Ministry of Road Transport said the current guidelines – issued in 2013 – are derived from an outdated linear model that does not explicitly take into account massive earthworks, resulting in an unrealistic construction period and incurring additional costs and risks.“Therefore, there was a need to review the existing guidelines based on scientific analysis, understanding of completed projects, and setting a realistic construction period for civil works in the DRC and the invitation to tender phase,” the ministry said.
She added that the new standard will improve predictability in project completion, reduce disputes, and enhance the value and quality of national facilities, to obtain realistic and bankable bids, better quality results and improve investor confidence.An additional six-month period is provided in the new standards for critical projects involving multiple bridges, tunnels or elevated structures. Likewise, an additional 12 months have been allocated for projects involving cutting and stabilization of slopes in mountainous states.
