NEW DELHI, July 25 � Admitting that resource crunch has delayed the construction of the Bogibeel rail-cum-road Bridge, the Centre has set a new target date of March 2017 for completion of the Project that is now estimated to cost Rs 4,996 crore.
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said in a Rajya Sabha reply to a question by Santiuse Kujur that the project has been delayed due to paucity of funds.
The rail-cum-road bridge over river Brahmaputra was sanctioned in 1997-98. The latest estimated cost of the project is Rs 4,996 crore and an expenditure of Rs 3,041 crore has been incurred up to March 2014. An outlay of Rs 600 crore has been provided for the year 2014-15, he said.
The physical works of both the North and South guide bunds, the 44-km long rail link from Chaulkhowa-Moranhat, the 14-km long north bank rail link and the eight-km long south bank rail link have been completed. In the main bridge, 36 out of 42 well foundations and 28 out of 40 piers have been completed. Two out of 41 girders have also been launched, said the MoS for Railways.
