By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 5: The already delayed Shillong-Dawki road project is facing additional setbacks, with completion likely to extend well beyond previous targets due to ongoing challenges hindering progress.
Sources indicate that Package 1, covering the stretch from Rilbong to Upper Shillong, could be completed by March 31 if issues related to the shifting of GSWSS water pipelines are fully resolved.
Initially, the state government had targeted completion of Package 1 by December 31, but delays arose from complications in relocating PHE pipelines.
An inspection was conducted on Monday to address these pipeline shifting problems.
However, Packages 2 and 4 risk additional delays, as there are indications that the contractors for these sections may be terminated due to slow progress.
If terminated, this would not be the first instance of contractor removal, as previous contractors have been terminated in the past, leading to re-tendering of the packages.
Work has not yet started on Package 3, while Package 4 — which includes a four-lane road section in Dawki and the major bridge over the Umngot River — is expected to take around two and a half years to complete.
The 90-km Shillong-Dawki road project, divided into five packages, has already missed multiple deadlines.
