The Union Cabinet has announced a Rs.50,000 Cr plan for constructing eight key highways include 68-km Ayodhya Bypass, 121-km Guwahati Ring Road, 516-km Kharagpur-Siliguri expressway, 6-lane Agra Gwalior greenfield highway (88 km) and an 30-km long elevated highway having eight lanes between Nasik and Khed (Pune). The NHAI will proceed through the PPP mode in all these projects, for which bids are invited from highway developers. Since each of these projects costs more than Rs.1000 Cr, they need to be appraised by inter-ministerial panel of PPPAC and must get the cabinet’s approval for bidding.
The highway ministry is likely to send a list of more projects it plans to take to the cabinet for approval by December. Sources said to streamline the process of land acquisition for projects, the highway agencies will be allowed to go for 3D notification only after getting Cabinet approval.
