Chitwan. The work of Gautam Budh International Cricket Stadium under construction in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-15 has been delayed.
So far, only 65 percent progress has been made in the construction which should be completed by the 27th of January. According to Adarsh Pokharel, engineer of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, due to some delay in the release of the budget, the construction company stopped the work in the middle, so the work was delayed as per the contract date.
For the construction of the stadium, the Metropolitan Corporation had entered into an agreement that 70 percent of the payment would come from Bagmati Province. He said that the work was affected due to the delay in releasing the provincial budget.
He says that the construction company has also delayed the work, so it is not seen that the work will be completed by the end of December.
Samrat Silwal, the manager of the construction company, said that the construction work could not be completed on time due to the increase in the price of construction materials, weather changes and the need to build on old structures. He said that since the construction work was done on an old structure, the technical decisions conflicted with each other and there was also a problem in the construction.
Now, it seems certain that the construction will not be completed on time, mainly because of the delay in the field work. That is why the construction company has prepared to ask Bharatpur Metropolitan Corporation for an extension to complete the construction work. An application for extension should be made 35 days before the expiry of the contract.
As the construction period nears its end, the first Variation Order (VO) of the stadium has been approved on October 28. In the initial phase, the contract was signed at Rs 785 million 91 thousand (including VAT), and now the cost has increased to Rs 86 million 24 million 84 thousand. This not only increases the cost but also increases the construction work. Therefore, the construction company said that the construction will not be completed on time as per the contract.
According to Santosh Acharya, Divisional Engineer of Bharatpur Metropolis, mainly the field work is left. After placing four layers of soil on the ground, pipes are left to be inserted into it. Soft soil will be placed on it and grass called Baruna will be planted.
Apart from this, the work of two towers has reached the final stage. Of the four parapets, two have been completed, while the third is 90 percent and the fourth is 70 percent progressed.
Electricity connection work is pending. Acharya says that if the construction company works regularly, it will not take much time. He informed that now around 80 people are working daily. He says that the work is going on even during Dasain.
The Bharatpur Metropolitan Corporation along with the Bagmati State Government had entered into an agreement with the Himalayan-Kalinchok BBR JV on 24th June 2081 and proceeded with the construction of the stadium. After Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation said that it could not work due to lack of funds, and handed over the responsibility to the metropolis, the metropolis proceeded with the construction of the abandoned stadium by ensuring 70 percent investment of the Bagmati province government and 30 percent of the metropolis.
Since Chitwan also has a national level cricket club, Chitwan Rhinos, and recently the craze of NPL has increased, there is pressure to quickly complete this stadium to play international level games in Chitwan. Chitrasen Adhikari, the Acting Chief of Bharatpur Metropolitan Corporation, said that he is ready to provide all the support to the construction company on behalf of the metropolis, and he has been urging them to complete the work quickly. He said that although there was some delay in the payment in the last financial year, the metropolis facilitated all other works.
He said, “We are telling the construction company to complete the stadium quickly, it will not be too late.” As the popularity of cricket game is increasing all over the country, the metropolis is eager to complete the stadium and hold national and international games in Bharatpur, the official said. -Rasus