Kerala signs pact with Pati-Bel for road project

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 13: After year-long negotiations, the Kerala Government today signed an agreement with Malaysian contractor Pati-Bel for completing the phase-one works of the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP).

The work in the first phase was stalled in November last year after the Finance Department refused to agree to the cost escalation demand by Pati-Bel.

The agreement to renew the project came after the government's efforts to find a new contractor failed.

As per the new agreement, the work for improving the MC Road, which was earlier scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, would take another two years and an additional Rs 72 crore to complete.

UNI