Polavaram: Govt to outsource quality testing of construction to pvt agency

Vijayawada: After months of delay, the state govt has finally decided to entrust quality standards testing at the Polavaram project to a private expert agency. The agency will establish an international-standard laboratory on-site to assess construction quality, following strong recommendations from the Panel of Experts (PoE), which includes dam safety specialists.

The PoE submitted its report to the govt and the Centre six months ago, urging immediate action. After a series of discussions, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry directed the state to make a final decision. The dam safety experts raised concerns about how such a massive project commenced without an integrated quality standards unit. They emphasised the importance of an on-site laboratory to ensure no compromises during construction. The urgency of this decision heightened after damage was discovered in the diaphragm wall of the Polavaram project. It took six months for PoE and Central Water Commission (CWC) experts to draft a reconstruction blueprint for the damaged wall.

Initially, the State Government had considered setting up the lab independently but opted to outsource the task to reduce costs. Officials determined that the lab would likely become redundant after project completion, making the investment impractical. In January 2025, contractors resumed construction after receiving clearance from the Centre in December 2024. However, laboratory operations remain pending as tender finalization continues.