Completion of Kochi Corporation office building inordinately delayed

Kochi civic authorities race to complete long-delayed Corporation office project at Marine Drive with bank loan funding.

The civic authorities of Kochi are racing against the deadline to complete the construction of the much-delayed Corporation office project at Marine Drive.

Though the project had missed several deadlines, the civic authorities said efforts were being made to finish the work in accordance with the revised schedule. At present, the Corporation has set apart funds to keep the project going. The civic administrators expect little financial aid from the cash-strapped State government and have decided to raise a bank loan to complete the project. The Corporation may require around ₹40 crore at the time of the completion of the project to clear bills.

The civic body has got some breathing time to raise a bank loan for the final settlement of bills, said a civic official.

The authorities plan to convene a session of the Corporation council after the lifting of the model code of conduct to clear the remaining technical hassles for the completion of the project. The Superintending engineer of the Corporation has been asked to come up with a detailed report on the technical hassles that need to be cleared to complete the project, said a civic administrator.

Repayment of the loan will not be a burden for the Corporation as it requires only around ₹1 crore a month. The Corporation will save over ₹1 crore a month on power bills alone once LED street lights are installed, a civic administrator said. Meanwhile, Antony Kureethara, leader of the Congress in the Corporation council, came down on the civic authorities for their failure to complete the project as promised. “The authorities had earlier promised to complete the project as an Onam gift to the city. However, they missed the deadline. The government too failed to support the project,” he said.