Building cost of Kotambi stadium to shoot up

Vadodara: The cost of the international cricket stadium being built at Kotambi is set to go up due to the after-effects of Covid pandemic and inflation. The apex council of Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) on Thursday decided to give a price rise to the two contractors who have been hired for building the stadium.
“The contractors have demanded a rise in the contract price due to a number of issues, including steep rise in the prices of raw material. We decided to consider their demand for giving the raise but the percentage will be finalized within a few days,” said Sheetal Mehta, vice-president, BCA. The contractors had met BCA’s stadium committee two days ago and apprised the members of the increase in raw material prices over the last one year.
While the contractor making the east-west wing of the stadium has asked for 24 per cent rise, the one working on the north-south wing has demanded 16 per cent rise. Both the contractors told the stadium committee that there has been a major hike in the prices of steel and cement, apart from the cost of other products.
“The contractors claimed that they had a tough time in bringing the labourers who had gone back to their villages during the pandemic. The labourers demanded more wages. Also, the increasing price of fuel has affected their budget,” a BCA official said. Though the contractors claimed that they had factored price rise in their initial cost estimate for the stadium, the unexpected rise in prices of raw material has forced them to demand a hike.
BCA officials said that the cost of constructing the stadium was set at Rs 80 crore and the hike given to contractors may cause an additional expense of Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore. Mehta said, “The contractors may have demanded a certain percentage of rise but BCA will negotiate it and take the decision after consulting experts.”
The cricketing association had begun construction of the stadium in March last year and cricket lovers hope to see IPL matches from its stands by next year.