Noida twin towers: Demolition firm seeks extension of time

Edifice Engineering, the firm hired by Supertech to demolish the twin towers here on May 22, has sought an extension of time to bring down the illegal structures, sources said on Thursday. The Supreme Court on August 31 last year ordered the demolition of the nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers built in violation of building bye-laws inside the Supertech's Emerald Court housing society in Noida's Sector 93A.

Edifice, which is taking help of South African company Jet Demolition to demolish the twin towers, had conducted test blasts at the site on April 10.

"The engineering firm carrying out the demolition of the twin towers has now written to Supertech for a time extension for the job, citing inputs from the foreign experts engaged for the work," a source told PTI.


Supertech has declined to comment on the issue.

However, the Noida Authority confirmed that Edifice has written to Supertech over the matter.

"They (Edifice) have written to Supertech. The engineering firm has to comply with agreement signed with Supertech," Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari told PTI.

"It's the builder's responsibility to demolish the towers as per Supreme Court orders and within the submitted timelines. We can't allow time extensions on our own," Maheshwari said.

The demolition of the twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- is scheduled for May 22, but after the test blasts on April 10, experts engaged in the job said the structures are "very solid" and they may have to use "more explosives" than what was estimated earlier to bring the buildings down.