L&T delivers Medigadda Barrage mega project in 24 months

24 Jun 2019 Editorial Team

Largest Barrage in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project, inaugurated by the CM of x in the august presence of Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and CMs of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh
Iconic in the Indian construction history, as voluminous material like 18.5 lakh cu m of concrete was used for the project

L&T Construction, the construction arm of Larsen & Toubro, today announced the completion of the iconic Medigadda Barrage project in just 24 months. The megastructure, part of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project, was inaugurated today by Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrashekar Rao, in the august presence of Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan, and Chief Guests, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra G Fadnavis and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jaganmohan Reddy.

The Medigadda Barrage will be a major part of the vital irrigation infrastructure to lift an estimated 180 TMC of water per year from the river Godavari to the Sripada Yellampalli Project to provide drinking water, facilitate irrigation and meet industrial needs in 23 districts of Telangana. A dream project of the Chief Minister of Telangana, the project was executed on a fast track mode involving a 1.6 km long barrage across the Godavari equipped with 85 gates, piers and associated guide bunds and flood bunds of 18.03 km on either side of the barrage.

The completion of this project by L&T, a first-of-its-kind in the Indian construction industry, set several records in terms of sheer use of voluminous material like concrete and steel in record time in a challenging operating environment.

“We are extremely proud that we have been able to deliver a project of this magnitude and complexity to international quality and safety standards,” said SN Subrahmanyan, CEO & Managing Director, L&T. “L&T is in the business of transforming people’s lives with the defining infrastructure that we build and we are delighted that the Medigadda Barrage will help convert thousands of hectares into arable, cultivable lands and bring water to thirsty millions in the state of Telangana.”

The magnitude of the project can be gauged from the following statistics: 1.8 crore cu m of earthwork excavation, 18.5 lakh cu m of concreting work (equivalent to 7 times that of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa), 1.35 lakh MT of steel work (equivalent to more than 15 times used in building Eiffel Tower), 5.5 lakh sq m of formwork and over 25,0000 MT of hydro-mechanical works, to mention a few.

“The terrain and conditions were extremely challenging but we were able to deliver as per our client’s requirements,” said SV Desai, Executive Vice President & Head-Heavy Civil Infrastructure, the business vertical of L&T Construction that executed this project. “Considering the speed of execution, we set quite a few world records in the process: 16,722 cubic meters of concrete poured in a day, 25,584 cubic meters in 72 hours and 194,081 cu m in a month are all achievements without parallel in the Indian construction industry. We also yoked the enormous benefits of digitalisation for the successful execution of this project,” he concluded.