Minister A K Saseendran bats for talks on KSRTC terminal complex

Kozhikode: In the backdrop of the High Court order that calls for negotiations on the completion of the works of the new KSRTC terminal complex, before the re-tendering process, Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran said that he was looking forward to the talks and clearing the objections raised by the Fire and Safety department and Corporation.

“The copy of the verdict reached my office only a day ago. It suggests a negotiation between the prospective bidders and if a consensus has not been reached, we have to consider a re-tender. The Corporation objected to umbering the building as the Fire and Safety department found several faults with the completion of the works. An estimate of Rs 23 lakh has been submitted by one party to finish the work, and we are looking forward to it,” the minister said.  

The delay in completing the restructuring works of the KSRTC bus terminal by Kerala Transport Development Financial Corporation (KTDFC) in tune with the guidelines of the ‘Fire and Safety Department’ has resulted in the delay in the execution of the agreement with MAK Associates, the firm that won the tender to operate the building complex. The group had won the bid for the lease for a surety of Rs 50 crore as nonrefundable deposit and Rs 50 lakh as rent for a 30 year lease period.

“The period of the agreement, as per the tender document dated September 18, 2015, was for six months and at present we (they) are not at all in consonance with the terms and conditions of the tender”, the MAK associates legal advisor Adv Muhammed Shah had stated earlier. The Fire and Safety Department had identified 15 anomalies in the building structure including in the structure of staircases and lack of fire escape facilities.