Dimapur-Kohima Highway: Contractors headed for a deal

DIMAPUR, AUGUST 27 : After a negotiation period that stretched to more than a month, a deal between Naga contractors and the ECI Engineering and Construction Company is on the verge of being finalized with regard to contract works to widen the National Highway connecting Dimapur and Kohima into a 4-lane proper. Highly reliable sources told Eastern Mirror that the ECI Engineering and Construction Company has more or less agreed to sublet the contract to the local contractors with a 60:40 profit split in their favour recently. It is worth recalling that out of the three contract packages for the entire project, ECI Engineering and Construction Company had won two. The first package covers a length of 14.94 Km starting from Chathe (Patkai) Bridge, which in official document has been entered as from Km 123.840 to Km 138.775—ending somewhere in the Medziphema region. The second package starts from Km 138.775 and would run till Km 152.49 into the Piphema region. The total length of the second package is 13.72 km. The third package was bagged by Gayatri Projects Ltd—which has been barred by the local contractors from executing any work due to its alleged failure to complete four projects under the SARDP phase-I program in Nagaland. But even as the final deal between the local contractors and the ECI Engineering and Construction Company has been almost brokered, some of the local contractors are of the opinion that they could have negotiated a better margin of profit. Their reasoning is that any firm, including the ECI, would have to approach local contractors because they cannot execute work without the help of the locals. But, quite curiously, it was the reverse in this instance. Sources said that it was the local contractors who approached the ECI Engineering and Construction Company, thus allowing the latter to pull the strings at the negotiation table. While trying to land a piece of the deal, the local contractors ended up surrendering the upper hand they had at the beginning. The feeling among some of the local contractors is that had they waited for the ECI people to approach them, instead of the opposite, Naga contractors could have brokered a much better deal. This, in turn, might end up having a damaging effect on the quality of work when the project is executed. The fear is that, less profit for the local contractors would translate into even lesser quality of work while constructing the road. And if the quality of works suffers, then it might end up going the SARDP way. There were also reports that the ECI Engineering and Construction Company had asked the local contractors to place some security deposit. The nature of the deposit, whether it was an escrow account, could not be ascertained at this time. Also, doubts persist as to whether the local contractors could be able to come up with the amount of money required by the Company. An attempt was made to contact an ECI representative for information and confirmation while filing this report. However, in spite of repeated attempts, the call did not go through. An NSCU official also declined to comment. The total project cost of the two packages won by ECI Engineering and Construction Company, according to information available on the NHIDCL website, is Rs 1000.79 crore. If the other package bagged by Gayatri Projects Ltd is counted, then the total shoots up to Rs 1559.35 crore.