Cost Deadline Revised Road Overhauls Slowed By West Asia War Set To Pick Up Pace

Even as the US-Iran conflict in West Asia slowed down the strengthening and repair of roads spanning 162 km in the Capital due to a surge in bitumen prices, the Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) is now aiming to finish the work before the year ends. The Finance department’s Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved a revised cost for the project, which was originally targeted for completion by March 31 but the deadline was later extended to July 31. At Rs 587.95 crore, the revised cost is around Rs 194 crore higher, almost 50% more than the original estimates of about Rs 394 crore. With the bitumen supply chain hit in the aftermath of the conflict, the EFC has approved revised preliminary estimates of Rs 215.23 crore from Rs 147.07 crore for strengthening roads spanning 58.292 km in the East Maintenance Zone and Rs 372.72 crore from Rs 247.31 crore for roads spread across 104.42 km in the North Maintenance Zone. This refers to a surge of 46% than the original cost in the East and 51% in North zones. Sharp surge in bitumen cost In the minutes of a recently-held meeting, the EFC gave the details: “…The price of bitumen had increased up to Rs 80,140 per metric tonne at the time of bid submission, whereas the original estimate was prepared based on Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR) 2023 where the rate of bitumen was considered as Rs 40,831 per MT. This increase in price of bitumen stated to be due to disruption in the supply chain of bitumen due to Middle East disturbance.” Officials said that the PWD subsequently revised the estimates based on prevailing market rates and tenders were floated. “Financial bids were also opened after justification of the tender, with the lowest bid for the East zone standing at Rs 164.55 crore and that for the North zone at Rs 290.44 crore…,” said an official, adding, “Since the increase in the modified estimates was more than 10%, fresh administrative approval and expenditure sanction were required before the works could be awarded….” Bitumen, derived from crude oil, is mainly used as a binder in road construction, where it holds together materials like sand, gravel, and crushed stone to form asphalt. It helps roads withstand traffic load and weather conditions. Overhaul plan Roads spread across 1,400 km in the Capital come under the purview of PWD, and the department has set a target to fix stretches spread over 1,000 km in the coming years. According to officials, several stretches were found to be in a dilapidated condition during internal reviews. The latest target of covering 160 km could not be met due to the West Asia conflict despite a deadline revision. “Now, as the approvals have come, tendering process for repairing strengthening have been started again so that the works are completed before Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) during the winter season is implemented to tackle air pollution, which may impose a curb on construction work,” one of the officials explained. The projects are scheduled to have a 30-day planning period followed by 375 days of execution. The Finance department has also directed PWD to ensure that the works are completed within the prescribed timelines, with stringent penalty clauses for delays and a project monitoring mechanism to track quality and progress. The Finance department has also directed PWD to ensure that the works are completed within the prescribed timelines, with stringent penalty clauses for delays and a project monitoring mechanism to track quality and progress. Further, with a view to improve durability and service life, the EFC has also directed PWD to explore the feasibility of using natural cement concrete roads on stretches carrying heavy traffic and other vulnerable stretches.