The government is likely to award contracts for multi-laning and upgradation for the entire 5,851 km of the National Highway Development Project's golden Quadrilateral (GQ) component by the end of the current year.
Of the total length of the GQ project -- which entails multi-laning of national highways connecting the four metros (Delhi-Mumbai- Chennai-Kolkata) -- contracts totaling 1,070 km were still left for award till September 2001. Of this, 214 km is expected to be awarded by October this year, and 769 km would be awarded by November. Contracts on the balance 87 km would be awarded by end-December 2001, NHAI chairman Deepak Dasgupta said.
The ministry of road transport and highways had been targeting award of all contracts on the GQ by July this year, but is confident that, despite the delay in awards, bulk of the work on the quadrilaterals would be completed by December 2003.
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The other component of the Rs 54,000 crore NHDP -- the North South-East West corridors -- entails multi-laning of 7,300 km of national highways joining the four extremes (Srinagar-Kanyakumari, Silchar-Porbandar)of the country. Of this, 675 km has already been four laned and 739 km is under various stages of implementation. The remaining 5,886 km of the corridors project would be awarded by 2005, with the project scheduled for completion by end of 2007.
In addition, projects for upgradation of 381 km of roads connecting the 10 major ports to the nearest national highways, would be awarded by the end of the current year, Dasgupta said.