Parameshwara certain regarding the inflation in the cost of steel bridge project

BENGALURU: On Tuesday the deputy chief minister G Parameshwara had proposed that he is certain that the cost will soar for the steel bridge project.

Sources within the urban development department have said that a spike in the project cost would be inevitable because the previous estimation was made in the month of March 2017. “If there is a revival of the project now, then there is certainly going to be an upward revision in costs as the project will have to be estimated according to current cost of materials. The government is already looking at a revision of the project cost,” a senior official with the department said.

The project cost increased from Rs 1,791 crore to Rs 1,900 crore when it was first proposed in the late 2016. It then had an increase of Rs 2,100 crore by the month of March 2017, before it got scrapped by the government.

“With the DyCM bringing up the issue of traffic congestion, we offered the options of constructing either a concrete corridor or reviving the elevated steel flyover. The DyCM chose the latter as constructing a concrete flyover would take more time and involve extra land acquisition. While the DyCM may have initiated the project revival, there has been no formal decision taken in this regard. The minister asked us to put out the project details in a public forum and collate opinion, as also pros and cons, before finalising the project,” the official said.

The department is currently working on the project to see if any modifications are to be incorporated.