VUDA-Harita housing project in Vizag delayed by Singapore firm

Visakhapatnam: The long-pending Vuda housing project, Harita, which has been delayed by more than five years, is likely to be delayed further.

The Vuda has set another fresh deadline of March 2015 to hand over these flats to the allottees.

The last deadline was December 2014 and the Vuda could not complete construction of these 710 flats in Madhurawada, which is touted as New Vizag.

The project was launched in 20 acres in 2009 at Madhurawada with 710 apartment units as a prestigious Singapore Township.

Due to the dispute raised by the construction contractor, the works kept pending since two years.

However, after repeated notices to the contractor, the Vuda finally issued termination notice to Jurong.

The Vuda pegged the cost escalation due to delay in project at around Rs 40 crore and asked the allottees to bear the cost.

However, the Vuda agreed to pay minimal interest to the allottees from November 2011.

The project cost at the time of the launch was Rs 128 crore, and after so many delays, it is now estimated at Rs 169 crore.

Now, the Vuda has taken up the works under the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode, splitting works instead of a single work under the condition that the contractor would strictly adhere to the quality the Vuda assured to the allottees.

“Vuda has been under in-charges’ supervision ever since N. Yuvaraj was posted as the district collector in June this year. There is no full time vice-chairman of Vuda. Harita works were undertaken in full swing until when Yuvaraj was there. The latest deadline was extended to December 2014 and I doubt if we can hand over flats even then. We may extend the deadline again to March 2015,” said a Vuda official.

Meanwhile, even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is keen on taking Singapore’s help in building AP capital, Vuda here is yet to get over the bitter experience with Singapore government’s JTC Corporation Indian subsidiary, Jurong Infrastructure (I) Pvt. Ltd, which backed off from a housing project midway.

The much hyped Singapore Township — Haritha project — at Madhurawada was given to Jurong Infrastructure (I) Pvt. Ltd, subsidiary of Singapore government’s JTC Corporation, in 2009.

The works were supposed to be completed by 2011.

But Jurong backed off from the project asking escalation of agreed contract price without any progress in work.

Hence, Vuda was forced to take up the project on its own. The allottees are yet to be handed over the flats even after five years.

Vuda has alleged that Jurong firm violated the agreement conditions and with nothing positive coming out of a series of negotiations or notices given to accelerate work, the contract was terminated.

The project, which was conceived way back in 2003, has been embroiled in controversies since then.

After a local court dismissed the petition of the Jurong India Limited, seeking a direction to the Vuda not to assign the construction Harita to a third party, the urban development authority cancelled its agreement with the Singapore-based company.

Initially, it was proposed to construct 3,300 houses in 40 acres of land with an outlay of Rs 200 crore. But, due to problems in land acquisition and other issues, it could not materialise and the plan has been re-designed to make it affordable to all sections of people.

Then, Vuda entered into an MoU with Jurong Infrastructure (I) Pvt. Ltd to take up the venture, and the site for the project was also finalised in 2005.

Finally, the Rs 100-crore mega project, Harita, Singapore Class Township, was formally launched on November 23, 2009, for constructing 710 housing units.

It was scheduled to be completed in 24 months.

“We have lost money as the project has been delayed by more than three years. There are also changes in the designs. Brochures issued said it would be a Singapore type township. But am not sure how is it taking shape now,” Vuda Harita Allottees Association, president, Prof Ghan Buktha, told Deccan Chronicle.

Even the original design conceptualised has been changed from 12-storied structure to G+4.