In a bid to clear infrastructure bottlenecks, the Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) on Monday gave clearance to eight new road projects worth R8,356 crore, covering a stretch of 757.5 km. Next step will be the financial bidding stage for these eight projects. According to sources, 12 road projects had gone for approval before the PPAC of which eight were cleared while the balance were deferred.
Of the eight cleared projects, three each are in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while one is in Karnataka. The eighth project is in Jammu & Kashmir. The longest stretch, which is to be constructed among these eight projects, is of 154 km (from Haryana Border to Salasar in Rajasthan), the official said.
Among the four deferred projects, two each are in Maharshtra and Andhra Pradesh. The projects are held up due to reservations expressed by the Planning Commission, said a government source.
?Of the eight cleared road projects, four involve conversion of four-lane roads into six-lane ones. This includes the ambitious and India’s first-ever all-weather 6.5 km tunnel project connecting Kashmir valley to Leh,? a senior government official told FE. The all-weather tunnel connecting the Valley to Leh will be built at a cost of around R2,700 crore. Border Roads Organisation will build the tunnel on behalf of the highways ministry, officials said. BRO has already received bids from 22 firms (from India and abroad) to execute the project.
At present, Leh remains cut off from rest of the country for at least six months due to heavy snowfall. This project will open the connectivity to Leh through the year. Sources said the final bidder will construct, operate and maintain the tunnel on NH1 (Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road). The project is expected to take five years for completion.
