Monday, October 12, 2020

CAG raps AAI for delay in airport terminal extension

Surat: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the poor execution of work for the extension of the terminal building at Surat airport. It has also criticised the AAI for the delay in work due to lack of Environment Clearance (EC) from the central government.

In the audit report obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the CAG stated that the progress of the terminal extension work was very slow. Against the physical target of 37.1%, only 6.18% work was done from the date of the commencement of the project work June 6, 2019. However, against the financial target of Rs 42.6 crore, only work amounting to Rs 3.92 crore was achieved in last one-and-a-half-year. According to CAG report, due to the pending EC of the terminal extension project, no major work could start except for the design, drawing and diversion of underground utility services. It has been observed that the AAI could not get the EC even after one year of the appointment of environmental consultant on January 18, 2019.

However, due to the failure of the environmental consultant in obtaining EC from the concerned authorities in New Delhi, the project was delayed by eight months.

CAG stated that the work for the extension of the terminal building at Surat airport was awarded on May 27 2019 to Siddhi Constructions for the total value of Rs 138.48 crore. The scheduled date of the start of the work was June 6, 2019 and that the scheduled date of completion was February 5, 2021.

During the lockdown in April, Siddhi Constructions requested the AAI for the Extension of Time (EoT) of about 253 for the project completion target from April 14, 2020.

12/10/20 Times of India


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