MP hands out 2 road projects for Rs 827 cr

A joint venture of three firms has bagged the Rs 427 crore Bhopal-Dewas four-lane road project from the MP Road Development Corporation.

Further, another road project of Rs 440 crore, connecting Jawra with Nayagaon, has been awarded to the joint venture of IDFC and Nasik-based Ashoka Build Con Ltd.

Both the projects, to be executed on the build-own-transfer basis, will be completed in two years and will involve maintenance for two years.

"We will issue a letter of contract to the joint venture of Rajasthan-based Chetak Enterprise, MSK Projects (India) Ltd and another firm within a day or two; we are waiting for central government clearance because both the projects fall under the Centre's viability guarantee fund scheme," said Mohammad Suleman, managing director of the MP State Road Development Corporation.

The state government will acquire and compensate a land area of 280 acres for the Bhopal-Dewas road, which connects the capital with Indore and Mumbai. Moreover, environment clearance and utility shifting will also be executed by the state government agency.

"This completion of the project will shorten the time to travel from Bhopal to Indore to three hours," said Suleman, adding, "at present Dewas is connected with Indore by a four-lane road. The company will have to redo the existing two-lane of Bhopal-Dewas road and construct another four-lane."

The company will have to comply with the Indian Roads Congress norms; however, it can alter the design of the road as required since the contract also involves maintenance of the road for a period of 22 years. The company will levy toll.

Suleman also informed that a joint venture of IDFC and Ashoka Build Con Ltd will be awarded contract of Jawra-Nayagaon road covering a length of 127 km for a project cost of Rs 400 crore approximately. "Investment on per kilometer will be Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 4 crore," Suleman said.

The BOT road concept, floated by the Congress government, had created a furore in the state when the then government awarded contracts of eight major roads to some people. The BOT scheme failed to take off due to controversies