Mumbai-based civil engineering construction company, BE Billimoria & Company Limited, has been awarded the contract for carrying out civil works on the proposed Tidel Park in Coimbatore, a senior Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) official said.
The Rs 206-crore contract was awarded by Tidco, which holds a 40 per cent stake in the project, coming up on a built-up area of 1.2 million sft.
The contract was initially given to Chennai-based Consolidated Construction Company Ltd (CCCL).
Confirming the development, PR Shetty, vice-president (south), BE Billimoria & Company, said they were awaiting the letter of intent, which was expected any time. Work on the project would commence by mid-September and is scheduled to be completed in 10 months. The contract involves carrying out structural and civil finishing works at the site.
When contacted, the original contractor for the project CCCL refused to make any comments. However, an official said that “when the contract was signed with the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), the IT park did not have special economic zone (SEZ) status. The developer (Elcot ) wanted CCCL to quote SEZ rates, which CCCL objected to.”
Two months ago, Elcot, which has a 50 per cent stake in the project, requested the government to blacklist CCCL stating that “the company has failed to execute the contract as per the tender terms after getting the letter of award in April this year.”
Elcot also said that CCCL should not be allowed to take part in any government tenders in the near future.
According to the Tidco official, apart from the cost of raw materials, including steel and cement, CCCL had demanded around Rs 4 crore over and above the contract sum of Rs 173 crore though there was no provision in the tender for increasing the rates.
Meanwhile, Shetty said they had also received a contract worth about Rs 75 crore from city-based Balaji Educational Trust for constructing hospital and buildings at Nellikupam in Chennai. Work on the project, which started recently, is expected to be completed in 18 months.
