The Finance department has approved the revised estimate for the construction of the Nerekadavu-Makkekadavu bridge over Vembanad Lake connecting Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.
A.M. Ariff, MP, said the next cabinet meeting would consider the department’s recommendation. “Once the cabinet gives its nod, the bridge construction will be resumed soon,” Mr. Ariff said.
The ₹99 crore project had been awarded based on the Delhi Schedule of Rates 2012. The construction, which got underway in 2016 with an 18-month completion period, however, came to a halt midway due to a delay in acquiring land for the construction of approach roads on both sides. Though the land acquisition was completed last year following a High Court directive, the construction firm sought to revise the estimate due to cost escalation.
