The government has approved six laning of 1,409.93 km of highways in various states at an estimated cost of Rs 18,238 crore, under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
"The six-laning of nine sub-projects in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh under NHDP phase V was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) yesterday," an official spokesperson said today.
The CCEA approved Rs 550.68 crore project for four-laning of 65 km Vijayawada-Machilipatnam section in Andhra Pradesh under NHDP, he said.
All nine stretches, including Delhi-Agra, Kishangarh-Udaipur, Chandikhol-Jagatpur-Bhubaneshwar and Vijaywada-Elluru-Rajamundri, will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under public-private-partnership (PPP).
Other stretches include Varanasi-Aurangabad, Nellore-Chilkaluripet, Krishnagiri-Walahjpet, Belgaum-Dharwad and Indore-Dewas sections.
The concession period for the nine stretches vary from 26 years to 30 years for various projects, including construction period of 30 months.
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The NHAI would select private sector concessionaires through a two stage bidding process. The first stage of the bidding process for pre-qualification of bidders has been completed while the second stage is in process.
The official said the government will provide a viability gap funding (VGF), which would not exceed 40 per cent of Rs 550.68 crore total project cost for Vijayawada-Machilipatnam section in Andhra Pradesh.
The VGF excludes land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction. About Rs 83 crore out of total project cost has been earmarked for land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.