Many infrastructure projects in Thiruvananthapuram under the Smart City project have been slowed down or temporarily halted due to the steep price hike of steel and cement. The private firms who undertook the work of the smart city project, which included civil components, have communicated to Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL) for revising the estimated cost. The steep rise in the price of steel and cement have forced the companies to demand cost escalation from SCTL. Earlier, the price of steel increased by 3,000 to 3,500 per tonne, while the 50 kg sack of cement price increased by Rs 80-100. It has disturbed the estimated cost of the firms which had won bids quoting the earlier market rates for cement and steel. CEO of SCTL, Vinay Goyal, said that many contractors have asked for increasing the price. SCTL is in discussion with the finance department, asking for a special exemption to smart city works as works need to be carried out in a mission mode. He added that the pace of the project has slowed down. According to the SCTL officials, cost escalation is not feasible as it would go against the conditions in the tender document. Cost escalation will further lead to delay in projects, and SCTL will be forced to extend the deadline. The multilevel car parking project (MLCP) work in Palayam and Thampanoor have been affected due to the rising prices of steel and cement. The MLCP work in Thampanoor was awarded for Rs 18.8 crore, and 47 out of 254 piled works have been completed. The work at Palayam A block was awarded at Rs 30 crore, and the test pile work has started for this project. The project at Thampanoor includes a G+4 storeyed smart parking system for 22 cars and 400 bikes, along with an electric vehicle (EV) charging system. The quotation for MLCP at Palayam included the cost of labour, material, tools, equipment, transport, hoisting, setting, fitting, fixing, preparation of drawings etc., for the execution and completion of the project. Image Source Also read: JSW Steel raises prices of long, flat products by about Rs 3k per tonne