Contractor agrees to work only at a 40 per cent increased cost from the 2018 estimate of Rs 12 crore, cites reasons like difficulties in construction in the hilly region and chances of importing sal wood
As per the proposal, the walkway structure will be of steel, and sal wood will be used for the deck
Building a treetop walkway in Malabar Hill will now cost the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Rs 22 crore, about 40 per cent more than what it had estimated (Rs 12 crore) for the project. After the civic body floated a tender in August this year, only one contractor — M/s HMV associates — came forward with a 50 per cent higher cost than the estimate. However, after negotiations, the final cost for the project has been fixed at a 40 per cent hike. The contractor has cited reasons like difficulties in construction in the hilly region and chances of importing sal wood.
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The walkway is expected to be completed within eight months (excluding monsoon) once the construction work starts.
The walkway at the Kamla Nehru Park will give ample sightseeing opportunities to people. The trail will start at a bend of Siri Road opposite the Malabar Hill Club and end at the base of Walkeshwar Road. It will be 705-metres-long and the main structure will be made of steel. Sal wood will be used for the deck, which will be 2.4-metres-wide.
The walkway will also have benches and a glass-bottom lookout zone.
The BMC has finalised the tendering process and the proposal will be discussed at the standing committee meeting tomorrow. As per the proposal M/s IMK architects submitted, the estimated cost was Rs 12.67 crore based on the designs. However, after the corporation floated a tender, the contractor quoted a 50 per cent higher cost and cited several reasons for the same — work has to be done in a silence zone for limited time in the day, most of the work will require a lot of manpower as the region is hilly and narrow, the walkway has 237 poles and at least five to six of them have to fixed daily and approximately 300 square metres of sal wood will be needed to be imported. The contractor further said that the defect liability period of the walkway was five years and repairing cost of the structure might be more.
After the contractor agreed to work at a 40 per cent higher cost, the final amount increased to Rs 22.50 crore. It may further increase if unexpected expenses occur. However, the contractor has previous experience of constructing a walkway at Kepong in Malaysia. The walkway was completed in December 2019 at a cost of Rs 8.87 crore.
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