WIDENING OF NH-24 FROM UP GATE (DELHI-UP BORDER) TO DASNA AND FROM UP GATE (DELHI-UP BORDER) TO MEERUT VIA DASNA / EASTERN PERIPHERAL EXPRESSWAY [BOT/EPC MODE] : NEWS ARTICLE DATED 6TH SEPTEMBER, 2014 PUBLISHED IN THE HINDUSTAN TIMES (LINK : HTTP://PAPER.HINDUSTANTIMES.COM/EPAPER/VIEWER.ASPX.)
BRIDGING THE GAP.
Commuters from Ghaziabad to Delhi are required to be masters of the art of driving because of the state of the roads. The narrow fourlane National Highway (NH) 24 remains clogged with traffic, and like the NH8, has potholes, boulders and cranes (being used for ongoing road repair work) making the stretch extremely dangerous. Those hoping for a quick solution to the problem have a long wait ahead, if the recent non-response by contractors to a bid for a highway project is any indication.
When bids opened for seven highway projects covering 830 km and costing Rs.17,368 crore, as per a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model in this financial year (2014-15), no bidders turned up. The projects included the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (NH24 and 58) and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.
"Two of these projects would be rebid again on BOT and if no response is received, they would be taken up for execution under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. Other five projects are also being taken up for execution under this mode – with execution period estimated to be three years," says a senior official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), on condition of anonymity.
"The total project cost of Delhi-Meerut Expressway (NH24 and 58) is Rs.6,600 crore and Eastern Peripheral Expressway is Rs.4,800 crore," he says.
The award target set by NHAI is 5,000 km this fiscal, which includes projects to be awarded via BOT and EPC. Since the market response to the BOT mode in the recent past has not been positive, if the projects taken up on this mode do not elicit the required response, they will be taken up on EPC, the official states.
BOT is an agreement between a private company and a governmental body. The agreement commits the private company to build and operate a facility such as a highway for a period of time and then transfer the ownership to the government.
EPC is the term used to describe contracts in which an engineering company assumes full responsibility for a project — engineering, material procurement and construction. The contractor then delivers a functioning facility or asset to the client or the government.
It has been proposed that the stretch from NH24 up to UP Gate will be widened to 14 lanes from the present four, and the road between UP Gate and Dasna will be eight-laned. The next phase of the expressway will be built on a new alignment from Dasna to Meerut, a six-lane stretch joining the Meerut bypass.
There are several affordable projects located along the NH24.
These include those in Indirapuram, Wave City by Wave Infratech, Golflinks by Land-Craft Developers, Sushant Aquapolis by Ansal API, Mahagun Puram by Mahagun Group and Springview Heights by Sare Homes.
The latest entrant is Prateek Group, which has launched an integrated township, Prateek Grand City in Siddharth Vihar, where it is offering 2, 3 and 4 BHK homes in the range of Rs.28 lakh to Rs.63 lakh. The project is located along the 75-metre wide FNG Road connecting NH 24 to NH 58.
Many other highways need to be upgraded and require further connectivity enhancements in order to fuel the growth nodes. NH 1 (Chandigarh) and NH 8 (Jaipur) are to be six-laned in the near future. However, a significant proportion of the inter-state traffic still has to pass through Delhi due to the lack of circumferential connectivity.
The completion of the Kundli Manesar Expressway (KMP) and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway is, therefore, essential to connect these micro-markets along the various national highways. This would also help unlock the real estate potential across the periphery of the NCR and help in creating new growth nodes vital for providing newer and affordable housing supply in the market.
"Therefore, the interlinking of the highways and connectivity enhancement for the NCR are crucial for the success of new housing nodes and moving towards the goal of housing for all," says Abhilesh Babel, joint CEO – realty and social infrastructure division, Feedback Infra (P) Limited.
It should be noted that the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway has missed several deadlines and Rs.1200 crore has already been spent on it. Union minister of state for road transport and highways, Krishan Pal Gujjar, was reportedly quoted as saying that the Centre was ready to get the pending construction work of the KMP expressway executed by the NHAI, if the Haryana government hands over the project to NHAI after settlement of issues with the concessionaire.
But will NHAI be interested in taking up this project? "We do not have any information on this. It is the prerogative of the Central government to entrust any National Highway stretch for execution to NHAI," the senior official adds.
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