Gwarko flyover faces penalty after missing extended deadline

KATHMANDU: The construction company is facing a daily penalty of Rs 88,000 since the flyover project at Gwarko, Lalitpur, is experiencing delays and is unlikely to be finished by the extended deadline. 

No more extensions will be granted, according to Senior Divisional Engineer Pradeep Bhandari of the Department of Roads' Quality Research and Development Center. For every day that the flyover is delayed, the corporation will be punished with 0.05 percent of the contract price.

Ashish-Samanantar-Religare JV, the construction company, has agreed to a contract worth Rs 176 million for the flyover, with an initial completion date of February 23, 2024. However, the deadline was extended by 10 months due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

The corporation would be fined Rs 88,000 every day after the extended deadline expires on December 23, 2024. According to current estimates, the project will take three more months to finish, during which time the corporation will be fined Rs 7.92 million.

Only 82 percent of the building has been finished thus far. The corporation is under pressure to fulfill the updated completion requirements while avoiding further financial penalties as a result of this delay.

Achyut Kharel, the director of Samanantar Construction Company, explained that the company had requested a three-month extension to complete the project. However, the Department of Roads rejected the motion, therefore the company will be responsible for paying the fee. 

"At the moment, 82 percent of the work has been completed," Kharel explained. We had promised to complete the work within three months when we asked for an extension. Nevertheless, the government has said that no extension will be given because this contract falls under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) paradigm.

The Department of Roads' 18-month approval process for the flyover's design contributed to the delay. Kharel noted that the project's delay was mostly caused by the design approval procedure, which is why the company is currently facing penalties.