New Delhi: The road transport ministry has tightened rules for construction companies by defining catastrophic failures in national highway projects which result in fatalities and cause lasting damage to roads.
The ministry has issued rating criteria for such concessionaires to assess their performances besides modifying the qualification criteria for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. It follows several complaints of poor quality highways including tolled roads across the country.
As per the rating criteria, catastrophic failures would impact contractor ratings with a 30 mark deduction, affecting future contract awards. Catastrophic failures, unless caused by force majeure, would include bridge, flyover, underpass collapses, and pavement failures affecting serviceability, according to a circular by the ministry.
Any collapse inside tunnels or tunnel portals with human entrapment for more than 72 hours, collapse of launching girder, staging, tunnels, or tunnel portals during construction or operation, and pavement failures requiring full-depth replacement within five years have also been categorised as catastrophic failures, making the concessionaire liable.
The ministry also specified thresholds for embankment or pavement failures during the defect liability period for considering it as a catastrophic failure.
The ministry has directed implementation agencies to report such failures within a month, failing which disciplinary action may be taken. The above incidents would attract notification as 'catastrophic events' unless they are due to force majeure conditions, the ministry said.
ODISHA HIGHWAY PROJECT
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded the construction of a six-lane access-controlled greenfield capital region ring road (Bhubaneswar Bypass) project in Odisha to three concessionaires.
The project involves the development of a 111 km long ring road from Rameshwar to Tangi in three packages under the hybrid annuity mode (HAM). The project is expected to be completed in about 30 months from the date of commencement, the ministry of road transport and highways said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry has issued rating criteria for such concessionaires to assess their performances besides modifying the qualification criteria for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. It follows several complaints of poor quality highways including tolled roads across the country.
As per the rating criteria, catastrophic failures would impact contractor ratings with a 30 mark deduction, affecting future contract awards. Catastrophic failures, unless caused by force majeure, would include bridge, flyover, underpass collapses, and pavement failures affecting serviceability, according to a circular by the ministry.
Any collapse inside tunnels or tunnel portals with human entrapment for more than 72 hours, collapse of launching girder, staging, tunnels, or tunnel portals during construction or operation, and pavement failures requiring full-depth replacement within five years have also been categorised as catastrophic failures, making the concessionaire liable.
The ministry also specified thresholds for embankment or pavement failures during the defect liability period for considering it as a catastrophic failure.
The ministry has directed implementation agencies to report such failures within a month, failing which disciplinary action may be taken. The above incidents would attract notification as 'catastrophic events' unless they are due to force majeure conditions, the ministry said.
ODISHA HIGHWAY PROJECT
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded the construction of a six-lane access-controlled greenfield capital region ring road (Bhubaneswar Bypass) project in Odisha to three concessionaires.
The project involves the development of a 111 km long ring road from Rameshwar to Tangi in three packages under the hybrid annuity mode (HAM). The project is expected to be completed in about 30 months from the date of commencement, the ministry of road transport and highways said in a statement on Tuesday.
