High bitumen rates press the pause button on road laying works
Work to relay damaged roads in and around the city has been disrupted owing to an increase in bitumen prices in the past few months
Work to relay damaged roads in and around the city has been disrupted owing to an increase in bitumen prices in the past few months. The prices of bitumen variants, which is the major item used in road laying, have especially gone up due to the war in West Asia as the cost of crude also went up. Bitumen is a byproduct of crude. Civic agencies such as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) have also cancelled tenders as contractors have been reluctant to do the work owing to price escalation. Road works estimated at a cost of ₹60 crore have been cancelled. The price of bitumen VG (viscosity grade) 30, which is used for smaller streets without heavy traffic, has increased from ₹47,852 per tonne in December 2025 to ₹76,852 per tonne in June 2026. Bitumen VG 40, the variant which is used for bus routes and highways with heavy traffic, has gone up from ₹50,342 per tonne in December 2025 to ₹84,772 per tonne in June 2026.
The LDO (light diesel oil), used for heating in the plants, has soared from ₹59,464 per kilo litre to ₹1,00,444 per kilo litre. Sources explained that owing to this price hike, contractors taking up work for the GCC have not been able to complete work after milling 26 roads in areas such as Sholinganallur and Ramapuram, putting motorists to hardship. “When milling is done and the relaying is not completed soon, road users, especially two-wheeler riders, find it difficult to use these stretches. Accidents also happen due to the road surface. The government should allow contractors to finish works that are stuck for want of bitumen,” said Sholinganallur resident B. Narayanan. Though the GCC has ordered the contractors to complete the works that have been started, contractors say they would go bankrupt if they do so. Work on 140 roads that need relaying after milling too has been delayed.
Civic body officials are keeping their fingers crossed hoping for some good news on July 1 when the State government is expected to take a decision on the rates. It is the same case with projects of the State Highways. Officials say that contractors have slowed down relaying and even repair works. “Luckily, there were no heavy rains requiring bitumen. The prices have more than doubled, which is an extraordinary happening,” said a Highways contractor. Price adjustment clauses in contracts will be valid only if the duration of the work is for over 12 months. A feature called pass through is used for three materials - bitumen, steel and cement - for which price bands are fixed during bidding and if there is an extraordinary increase, agencies like NHAI and CPWD bear the additional costs, explained a long-time Central government contractor.
The BriefWire