SHILLONG:
The government has said that it won’t be possible to construct a new bridge near the old Umiam bridge but informed that the Shella Bridge in East Khasi Hills district may soon be a reality as the World Bank has floated expression of interest (EoI) for the latter’s construction.
Deputy Chief Minister Deputy Prestone, recently, said that the government’s plan of erecting the new bridge at a proposed location encountered a roadblock after the Geological Survey of India (GSI) submitted a report indicating that it is not advisable to construct a bridge there.
“After conducting soil testing, the GSI submitted a report that stated that it is not feasible and advisable to construct the new bridge at the proposed location as it will affect the existing structure and that we have to go downstream to erect a new bridge,” said Tynsong, adding that the government has already asked the consultant to submit a report on the matter.
Earlier, the inspection had been conducted for the alternative location near a place where the Army used to have a boating centre.
Tynsong further informed that the strengthening of the Umiam Bridge will be part of the implementation of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP). The other three dams include Leshka power project, Umtru stage I and Umtru stage II.
The deputy Chief Minister also said that the tendering process is in the final stage of completion and Rs 440 crore has been earmarked for Meghalaya.
“We will implement the project in a phase-wise manner. We will call tender for around Rs 100 crore in the first phase,” he added. Tynsong also added that the implementation of the DRIP will eventually increase the lifespan of the Umiam Bridge.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has agreed to implement the Shella Bridge project under the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode of contract.
Tynsong also informed that three to four interested parties are conducting the surveys and are preparing the detailed estimates and design of the Shella bridge, which will be then examined by the state government.
According to the deputy Chief Minister, the government will soon take a call on the matter.
Tynsong also informed that the earlier construction of the bridge was proposed to be taken up from the Lafarge Fund. However, due to unavailability of land, after landowners on both sides objected, the project was delayed.
The bridge is being funded by the World Bank under the Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITP) and the original detailed project report (DPR) was estimated at Rs 20.49 crore and due to change of alignment, now the World Bank is undertaking the documentation of EPC.
Once the documentation is over, then the successful bidder will again go for DPR and technical survey and thereafter, they will submit the DPR to the World Bank for the necessary sanction, he informed.