Rail-Cum-Road Bridge By March 98

Naranarayan Setu, the 2.3 km rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra, being constructed by Braithwaite Burn & Jessop Construction Company Ltd (BBJ), a subsidiary of BBUNL, is expected to be ready by March 1998.

With the numerous coal depots in the area, the bridge will provide the means for mass transportation of coal from one bank to the other. BBUNL chairman and managing director R P Singh said, Rail will continue to be the cheapest mode of transport available.

The bridge will also give better access to Meghalaya.

C K Ganguly, managing director, BBJ told ..............Business Standard, The area is rich in forest produce, and with easier and cheaper modes of transportation, the industry is expected to thrive. He further added that commercial transportation is very limited in the south bank, and it is expected that with increase in general transportation, ancillary industries will crop up.

 

The Rs 300-crore bridge, the longest in the country, is expected to be operational by March 1998. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by the late prime minister Indira Gandhi in November 1983 at Pancharatna on the southern bank. The project was taken up for implementation after a gap of four years. After the initial teething trouble, the project took off in full steam from early 1992. The initial delay was mainly due to freezing of the design parameters.

BBJ is also bidding for the contract to build six flyovers in Calcutta. The project will be funded by the Overseas Economic Co-operation Fund (OECF) in the form of a loan of Rs 400 crore. The company is also gearing up for a financial restructuring, and will be concentrating more on highways and ports.

The company has also signed a memoranda of understanding with Frederick Harris of Holland to focus on the building of ports, and with Inco of Spain for civil structural activities.