Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MH)
Mangaluru, July 3: The New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) convened a press conference on Wednesday, July 3, to address concerns regarding a breach in the northern breakwater under construction at Kulai Fishing Harbour in Mangaluru.
Krishna Bapi Raju, senior deputy secretary, explained the project, stating, “The project includes constructing two breakwaters: a Northern and a Southern breakwater. The Southern breakwater is nearly complete and fully protected. However, the Northern breakwater remains unfinished, with protection up to 300 meters. Beyond this, up to 510 meters, only the filter and core materials are installed, and this section remains unprotected as work continues. Recent rough seas have damaged the core layer, which was anticipated as part of our ongoing work progress and not considered an incident."
Raju continued, “Multiple agencies are involved in the project. NMPA is the project implementing agency, along with the project proponent, Department of Fisheries, design director from IIT Madras, and the third-party inspecting agency, NITK Surathkal. Upon completion, the project will be handed over to the Karnataka Government's Department of Fisheries.”
Praveen Shenoy, executive engineer, further clarified, “The breakwater design was submitted by the Design Director and approved by the Port Authority. Model studies were conducted by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), and the detailed project report was prepared by the Central Institute for Coastal Engineering For Fisheries (CICEF). Due to the monsoon and rough waves, repairs are challenging at this time and will commence after the monsoon season. As this is an EPC contract, the contractor will bear the repair costs, although the total loss has not been estimated.”
Regarding payment to the contractor, Shenoy mentioned, “Payment has been made only for the protected portion of the northern breakwater, specifically from 0 to 300 meters. No payment has been made for the section beyond 300 meters, as it is still under construction.”
The press conference was attended by Krishna Bapi Raju, Praveen Shenoy, and other officials.