Andhra Pradesh: Polavaram project in crucial phase, girder erections start

AMARAVATI: The Polavaram project has reached a major milestone with the irrigation department starting the process of placing the world’s biggest girders on the spillway. A major part of the spillway works will be completed once the girders are erected.
Moreover, construction of 52 blocks of the spillway is nearing completion. The 52 girders, which are expected to be erected in two months, will make the project safe from floods.
Senior officials of the irrigation department, including superintending engineer (SE) Nagireddy, have been working overtime for the last one week in order to begin this crucial phase of the project.The first girders were placed on the 45th and 46th blocks of the spillway after a traditional puja at the site on Monday evening.
The Polavaram project, one of the most ambitious projects in Andhra Pradesh, is expected to come to life in a few more months as works are progressing at a rapid pace. The contractor firm— Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) is putting all its efforts into completing the project on time.
The crucial spillway works have now reached the final stage. Nagireddy, project SE, said that concreting narrow piers at massive heights is a much more complex process than laying concrete on flat land. The process is more complicated at Polavaram as the project needs to follow stringent construction rules, he added.
MEIL general manager, Satish Babu, said, “The total length of the spillway is 1.054km on which 196 girders will be erected on piers. Each girder weighs about 62 tonnes. Around 110 girders are ready to be erected. Work for setting up girders will be completed within the next two months.”
Satish Babu further said that currently work is on for casting the rest of the girders. Nearly 25 cubic metres of concrete is used to cast each girder. “All major works of the project have been completed except the erection of gates once the girders are set up,” Satish Babu added.