L&T, Megha Engg among 18 bidders for Rs 15,000 crore Bundelkhand Expressway

A total of 82 separate bids received, with 10 contenders bidding for all six packages of the project

Infrastructure majors Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Megha Engineering are among the 18 bidders for the Rs 15,000 crore Bundelkhand Expressway project in Uttar Pradesh.

Other companies in fray include KNR (JV), GR Infra Projects, Afcons Infrastructure, Apco Infratech, HG Infra Project, JMC Projects India, PNC Infratech, Dilip Buildcon, Ashoka Buildcon.

The ambitious project of the Yogi Adityanath government is proposed to be developed in six different packages for speedier completion.

According to Awanish Awasthi, CEO of nodal agency UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), a total of 82 separate bids had been received for the six packages from 18 bidders, with 10 of them bidding for all packages. Awasthi is also the state additional chief secretary.

While, the technical bids have already been opened, the financial bids are likely to be opened in the coming days.

The Adityanath government plans to complete Bundelkhand Expressway, estimated to cost Rs 14,850 crore, before the 2022 assembly polls. The project is aimed at linking the arid zone with mainland UP and usher in faster socio-economic development in its backwaters.

While Rs 7,000 crore would be raised via bank loans, the remaining funds would be provided by the state government from its own resources. Recently, Bank of Baroda (BoB) had cleared a Rs 2,000-crore credit line for the proposed 296 km Expressway.

BoB, which is the UP state-level bankers’ committee (SLBC) convener, had already offered Rs 2,000 crore loan for another flagship Purvanchal Expressway, which is under construction and is projected to be completed by August 2020.

The government has acquired 90 per cent of the required 3,641 hectares for Bundelkhand Expressway, which would traverse Jhansi, Banda, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah districts, and touch Agra-Lucknow Expressway at Etawah.

So far, the government had released Rs 1,590 crore towards land procurement for Bundelkhand Expressway, while remaining Rs 612 crore would be invested after the bank loan materialises.

The state had also tied up with Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Corporation Bank for loans worth Rs 8,800 crore for bank rolling 340 km Purvanchal Expressway.

In fact, the Adityanath government plans to mop up Rs 9,275 crore in bank loans to fund Bundelkhand Expressway and 91 km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, which is estimated to cost Rs 5,876 crore. The state would raise Rs 2,275 crore for Gorakhpur Link Expressway and kick start its bidding process in coming weeks.

Besides, the government has proposed 600 km Ganga Expressway, touted as the world’s longest access infra project when completed. Estimated to cost Rs 36,000 crore, the Expressway would link Prayagraj (Allahabad) with Western UP and require acquisition of 6,556 hectares of land and traverse 12 districts, namely, Meerut, Amroha, Bulandshahar, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratagarh and Prayagraj.