The state government has terminated the contract awarded to Simplex Infrastructures Limited for building a 2.5-km flyover between Ejipura and Kendriya Sadan junction.
The March 3 order asks the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to float a fresh tender to complete the pending civil work estimated to be more than 50%, while also directing the civic body to seize the contractor’s bank account.
The order follows the BBMP’s recommendation to terminate the contract on the grounds that the contracted construction company failed to complete the contract two years after the deadline had passed.
While issuing the termination order, the Urban Development Department has directed the BBMP Chief Commissioner to follow all tender conditions strictly. The company had deposited a bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore, which is likely to be forfeited for missing the written assurances of the company at least twice.
The work of building the 2.5-km flyover along the Inner Ring Road was awarded to the Kolkata-based construction firm in May 2017.
As per the tender conditions, the Rs 204-crore project was expected to be ready by November 2019. Nearly five years later and after skipping many deadlines, the company has been able to complete only about 47% of the civil works.
The BBMP, under pressure to terminate the contract two years ago, extended the deadline by one year and eight months to complete the work on the contractor’s request.
During the extended period, the company was able to achieve only about 3.58% of physical works, the BBMP had said in its letter to the government.
As per the latest data, the firm has been able to complete only 191 pre-cast segments as against the 762 needed to complete the project.
So far, the BBMP has paid Rs 75 crore to the construction company and states that it does not owe any money to the contractor.
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