The end of the year is a new deadline for completing the Outer Ring Road
Nagpur: The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI’s) contractor MEP Infrastructure has set a deadline for completing the Outer Ring Road by year-end. The work order for the 61-kilometer stretch was issued in April 2016 and it was to be completed in three years.
Project director NL Yeotkar said the work had been divided into two packages — 33km-long first package which covered the stretch from Jamtha to Fetri via Gondkhairi and the 28km-long second one from Fetri to Pawangaon on Bhandara Road (beyond Kapsi).
“The first package at the cost of Rs 531 crore is 52% complete while the second one at Rs 649 crore is 43.5% ready,” he added.
Yeotkar admitted that the contract period expired long ago and added that the contractor had been fined. “We could not terminate the contract as we had not handed over the entire land. Now, 100% of the land required for the project is with him. He is facing some financial problems and is holding talks with the bank. I’m unaware of the outcome,” he said.
Under this project, NHAI will construct a new 40-km cement concrete four-lane road from Gondkhairi on Amravati Road to Bhilgaon-Sirpur on the Kamptee-Jabalpur section of NH 44 via Fetri on Kalmeshwar-Katol road, Bharatwada, Panjara on Koradi-Chhindwara section of NH 47. It will also widen the 21-km stretch from Gondkhairi to Gavasi Manapur on NH 44 from the existing two-lane to four-lane and convert it to concrete road.
The ORR will also have an interchange with the under-construction Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway. NHAI will construct five railway overbridges, 20 minor bridges and 15 underpasses under the project.
The project is being developed under NHAI’s hybrid annuity system. NHAI will pay 40% of total cost to the contractor during the construction period. The remaining 60% will be paid in three installments over 15 years from the date of completion with a fixed rate of return.
When the work order was issued, the project was the first in the state and second in the country to be developed under hybrid annuity system.
NHAI will levy toll to recover the project cost. Toll will be recovered by NHAI through a private agency other than the one executing the project.
