Ashoka, DS to build Chhattisgarh highways

Construction majors Ashoka Buildcon and DS Construction have bagged contracts from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to execute three packages of converting the 207 kilometres segment of national highway passing through Raipur to four-lanes.

The estimated project cost of the three packages would be Rs 1094 crore.

While the DS Construction was awarded a contract for Rs 190 crore, Ashoka Buildcon bagged the contracts for two packages""one in Chhattisgarh and another in Maharashtra--to be completed with an estimated cost of Rs 904 crore.

The project director of NHAI, Rajiv Kumar Agrawal, told Business Standard that contract for the four-lanning of 44 kms segment of National Highway-6 between Tatibandh (through ring road) and Arang has been awarded to DS Construction. The authority would spend Rs 190 crore for the conversion.

The Nasik-based Ashoka Buildcon has been awarded the contract of four-laning of 83kms of road between Durg by-pass to Chichola border at an estimated cost of Rs 464 crore.

The company has also been awarded contract for completing four-laning of 80kms of road between Chichola border and Vainganga Bridge (near Nagpur) in Maharashtra state.

The project would cost Rs 440 crore, Agrawal said.

He said that the contracts were awarded to both the firms on December 1 while the agreements between the authority and construction companies were expected to be inked on January 3 next year.

The construction works on all the three packages would start by July 2007, Agrawal said, adding that DS Construction would complete the project by December 2008 while Ashoka Buildcon would finish the two packages by December 2009.

NHAI has started issuing notices to the people and firms coming under the purview of encroachment on the national highway land.

The authority had served notices on 150 people and firms, asking to remove the encroachment and illegal construction within seven days of the receipt of notice.

If the persons concerned did not take initiative and evict the encroachment, the authority would be forced to raze the illegal construction.

The notices were issued on December 7, 2006 while a public hearing was held here in Raipur on December 13.

Sources indicated that after completing the preliminary formalities, the authority would start removing encroachments from the ring road and project sites very soon.