Staff Reporter
Guwahati: National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) has set a target of three years to complete the four-lane national highway from Baihata Chatiali to Tezpur, from the date of appointment to the contractor.
Following the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NHIDCL has invited international competitive bidding under a single-stage bidding process for the project named 'Construction of a 4-lane Highway from Baihata Chariali near Guwahati to Tezpur, excluding Mangaldoi Bypass, along NH-15 in the State of Assam on BOT Mode'.
BOT mode stands for the Build-Operate-Transfer model. It is a kind of public-private partnership where a private company funds, builds, and runs a public project (like a highway or bridge) for a set time, collects user fees or tolls to make a profit, and then gives it back to the government.
As per the international competitive bidding document, the total length of the proposed four-lane national highway stretch from Baihata Chariali to Tezpur is 135.87 km, and the estimated project cost is Rs 7642.20 crore.
The union cabinet yesterday approved the construction of the national highway from Baihata Chariali to Tezpur at a cost of Rs 8,970 crore. The project envisages the construction of a 4.9 km Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) on the Tezpur Bypass, which was planned with the Indian Air Force. Currently, the stretch from Baihata Chariali to Tezpur is a two-lane one, and the four-lane Mangaldai Bypass is under construction.
It needs to be mentioned here that a few stretches on the highway from Baihata Chariali to Tezpur contain several accident-prone sites, and fatalities are recorded from time to time.
An NHIDCL official said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) entrusted the NHIDCL with the construction of the 4-lane access-controlled Guwahati-Tezpur Corridor of NH-15 in Assam. NHIDCL has set a target of three years to complete the project.
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