International experts with officials of the Polavaram Project Authority, the State Water Resources Department and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited at the Polavaram project site. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A team of international experts concluded its four-day review of the Polavaram project after inspecting the key construction activities and quality-control procedures at the Earth-Cum- Rock Fill (ECRF) dam.
The team, comprising Richard Donnelly, Gianfranco De Cicco, Sean Hinchberger and David Paul, visited the project site from October 14 to 17, an official release said on Saturday (October 17, 2026).
They had 40 hours of field visits and review meetings, with 13 hours spent on inspection of construction works and testing facilities and 27 hours on technical discussions.
The team examined the progress of construction at ECRF dam Gaps 1 and 2 and visited the quality-control laboratories and assessed testing procedures.
They expressed satisfaction with the construction and quality-control arrangements, including the use of technology in the ECRF dam and other structures.
At a meeting on Saturday, the experts briefed Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) officials and representatives of the State Water Resources Department (WRD) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited about their observations.
They advised the project authorities to maintain construction quality as the work progressed and continue with established testing procedures, while documenting every test result.
PPA Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Vohra chaired the review meetings, and Central and State WRD officials, including Engineer-in-Chief (ENC) K. Narasimha Murthy, scientists from Central Soil and Materials Research Station and representatives of WAPCOS and MEIL took part in the discussions and field inspections.
Published - October 18, 2026 02:05 pm IST