BBMP floats 4th tender to complete Ejipura flyover

The BBMP has floated the fourth tender to complete the Ejipura flyover, which remains incomplete even after six years.

The project has become a symbol of the BBMP’s inefficiency to complete big infrastructure projects on time. It was been stalled for nearly two years after the previous contractor failed to carry out the work even after the deadline was extended multiple times.

As per the new tender, the remaining work is estimated at Rs 143.80 crore.

The cost estimate was the main reason why the BBMP’s previous tender failed as the lowest bidder had quoted around 40% more than the estimates provided by the civic body. It’s not sure whether the civic body will succeed in getting a lower bidding price this time. Earlier this month, residents of Ejipura and Koramangala staged a protest against the BBMP for delaying the completion of the flyover.

While the pace of construction of the flyover started reducing by the end of 2021, the work stalled in early 2022. As the construction firm Simplex Infrastructure did not meet the benchmarks set by the BBMP, the government approved its request to cancel the tender last year.

Dumping yard

The median of the incomplete Ejipura flyover currently resembles a dumping yard. Truckloads of construction debris and garbage have been dumped all along the median of the flyover that stretches close to 2.5 km.

Two launching girders and corroded barricades have also been left abandoned at the project site for the last two years, clearly posing a risk to motorists.

A senior BBMP official claimed that the launching girders were safe, saying engineers had been alerted to the debris being dumped at the site.