No toll to be collected on Mattancherry bridge from April 27
BOT bridge. (Photo: DC)
Kochi: The BOT bridge at Mattancherry, which has been a topic of heated public debate and has spawned protests due to the hefty toll, will be taken over by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) on April 27.
This comes after many years of negotiation and legal battles between the state government and Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd, the construction company.
It is the state's first bridge built on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The contract was awarded to Gammon in 1999.
The GCDA chairman N. Venugopal told DC that no toll would be collected after April 27 when the Authority takes over the bridge.
“The terms of agreement between GCDA and Gammon India Company will be terminated on April 26. Though the Gammon company had earlier asked for a compensation of '67 cr to end the toll collection, they have agreed to settle for Rs 31 crore,” he said.
The GCDA chairman added that the Authority would not carry out any project in future on build, operate and transfer basis. Soon after he took office, Mr Venugopal announced that making the bridge toll-free was one of his topmost priorities.
His efforts to take over the bridge before the contact period ends, through negotiations, didn’t succeed.
There was a series of protests from bus owners, commuters, traders and local residents over the huge toll rate and alleged corruption in the toll agreement.
Though the total cost for constructing the 500 metre bridge was nearly Rs 20 cr, the company has collected more than Rs 42 cr till the beginning of 2013. The company was given the right to collect toll for 13 years, which was extended by two more years.
Though the UDF government in 2005 issued an order to extend the toll period by another six years, the subsequent LDF government quashed the order and upheld the original agreement by which the contract agreement and toll collection right of Gammon will end on April 26.
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