The work to construct the upcoming Ludhiana-Ropar expressway has begun after much delay caused in the past, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed.
While the construction of 37.7-km stretch under Package-1 of the 104.44-km-long greenfield project, including a 19.5-km spur from Pipalmajra to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass, to be built at the cost of Rs 2,857.14 crore has taken off within the limits of Ludhiana district, the land for the remaining 47.24-km stretch has not yet started for want of land, officials have said.
The work on Package-1 of the four to six-lane National Highway-205K from junction with NE-5 village near to Manewal in Ludhiana to junction with NH-205 near Bheora village in Ropar including spur to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass has picked up pace after sufficient land was made available for the project.
26.45-km of the total 37.7-km land required for the Package-1 had been taken while the process to complete the acquisition proceedings for the remaining 11.25-km stretch under Package-1 was still on.
With Rs 951 crore civil cost and Rs 410 crore land acquisition cost, the total capital cost for Package-1, for which the work was awarded in September, 2021, was Rs 1,368.91 crore for which 260 hectares of land was required. Of the total Rs 294.12 crore awarded for the land acquisition so far, Rs 203.47 crore has been deposited and Rs 97.55 crore, which accounts for 33.17 per cent of the total award money, has been disbursed to the landowners.
Sachdeva divulged that the Package-2 comprising 47.24-km stretch involved a civil cost of Rs 1,035 crore and land acquisition amount of Rs 461.71 crore, taking the total capital cost to Rs 1,488.23 crore. However, the possession of just 1.25-km land had been taken under this package so far, for which the work had been awarded in December, 2021.
For the total 337.27 hectares of land under acquisition for Package-2, a sum of Rs 352.73 crore had been awarded, of which Rs 150 crore had already been deposited and Rs 86.24 crore had been disbursed to the farmers, which accounts for 24.45 per cent of the total award money.
The NHAI had approved 4-6 access-controlled highway with a route alignment connecting Manewal village in Ludhiana on the upcoming Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway with Bheora village near Ropar for the construction of the greenfield expressway, which includes a 19.5-km spur from Pipalmajra to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass, and was being developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-1.
The expressway was being built in two parts under the hybrid annuity model (HAM) mode, and will connect Ludhiana, Ropar and Mohali districts.
Under the HAM mode, 40 per cent the project cost was provided by the government as construction support during the construction period and the balance 60 per cent was paid as annuity payments over the operations period along with interest thereon to the concessionaire.
While three railway over-bridges to be built under the project had also been approved by the Northern Railways, the plan and profile of the project had been submitted and the alignment had been approved.