Work on widening of Bengaluru-Mysuru NH-275 gets Cabinet approval

The Centre, on Tuesday, approved a Rs 2,920-crore project for widening a section of national highway-275, connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for six-laning of the Nidagatta-Mysuru section of NH-275 from km number 74.2 to km number 135.3 on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) in Karnataka," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

Funding model

In HAM, the government pays only 40% of the cost during the construction stage, while the developer has to raise the remaining 60% in the form of equity or loans. Once the project is completed, the developer will get the remaining money from the government.

Under HAM, collection of revenue or toll charges will be the responsibility of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The six-laning of about 61 km is estimated to cost approximately Rs 2,919.81 crore, including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities. The civil construction cost is about Rs 2,028.93 crore.

"With the widening and improvement of the highway, the region will experience greater economic growth, resulting in higher employment opportunities for locals. An employment potential of 2,48,000 (approx) man days will be generated locally during the construction period of the stretch," it said. The section connects Bengaluru and Mysuru and also links important places like Mangaluru, Kodagu, parts of Kerala, etc, to Bengaluru.

The existing four-lane road, passing through congested and thickly populated towns like Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna has already crossed its capacity, resulting in traffic jams and accidents, the statement said.

The upgrading to six lanes along with service road on each side and construction of bypasses at Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna and grade-separated structures on this stretch will greatly reduce the time and cost of travel.