Work on upgrading Amt-Chikhli highway to restart in November

NAGPUR: Work on upgrading Amravati-Akola-Chikhli highway, stalled since two years, will begin again from November. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded the tenders and is awaiting financial closure of the project by the contractors. The stretch is about 195 kilometres and the cost is about Rs 2,430 crore.
At present, the condition of Akola-Amravati road is very bad. Accidents happen frequently and many lives have been lost in past two years. As population of both cities is over a million, the traffic on the road is quite heavy, according to Ashok Dalmia, national secretary of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). He has demanded that NHAI immediately repair the potholes on the road.
Work of Amravati-Chikhli highway was awarded to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) in 2017. The company ran into financial problems and stopped work in July 2018. After several show cause notices, its contract was terminated in August 2019.
NHAI then retendered the work in November 2019 and letter of agreement was signed in February 2020. The final agreement was signed in July. Three chosen companies have applied for bank loans and as soon as they are sanctioned, work will commence. They have been given five months for financial closure as per NHAI norms.
VP Bramhankar, NHAI project officer, said the stretch had been divided into four packages for early completion. “The contractors will have to complete the work in two years from the date of commencement,” he told TOI.
The first package is 54.63-kilometre long Amravati to Kurankhed village. Its cost is Rs 658 crore. It has been awarded to Raj Path Eagle India Consortium. The second is 50-km long from Kurankhed to Shelad village. It has also been awarded to the same consortium and will cost Rs 583 crore.
The third package is 45 km long from Shelad to Nandura. This work will be done by Montecarlo Ltd at the cost of Rs 530 crore. The fourth is also 45 km long from Nandura to Chikhli. The work will be done by Kalyan Infrastructure at the cost of Rs 534 crore.