The work to create the 75.54 km Ludhiana-Bathinda six-lane state highway has been awarded to Ram Kumar contractor and Ceigall India Ltd.
While package 1 of the 30.3km greenfield highway has been assigned to contractor Ram Kumar, the second section, including a 45,243km stretch on NH-754-AD, has been assigned to Ceigall India Ltd.
About 13 construction companies had expressed interest in carrying out work on the six-lane access road connecting Ballowal village on the Delhi-Amritsar highway and Rampura Phul on the Amritsar-Bathinda highway.
Last January, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) launched tenders for its construction with a two-year deadline.
This will make the drive from Ludhiana to Bathinda smoother and faster as the project involves six lanes on the 75,543 km long 754-AD National Highway at Rs 1,716.17 crore.
Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase 1, the part of the Ludhiana-Ajmer Economic Corridor (EC-8) will be completed in 24 months.
The bidders included Ram Kumar Contractor, Ceigall India, CDS Infra Projects, Agroh Infrastructure Developers, Chetak Enterprises, HG Infra Engineering, Krishna Constructions, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, Prakash Asphalt and Toll Highways, GR Infraprojects, PNC Infratech, Ravi Infrabuild Projects and VRC constructions.
A senior NHAI official told media that after the technical evaluation of the bids obtained for both packages, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders were opened to allow work to the lowest bidder.
The purchase of 525.19 hectares of land was nearing completion and the few current prices will be announced shortly.
She said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has carried out the widening and strengthening of the highway in two parts under the hybrid annuity model (HAM).
The first part of the NH-754-AD will be 30.3 km long, while the second part will cover a 45,243 km stretch.
For package 1, while 13 bids were received on the south side of the project, 12 bidders have expressed interest in package 2 on the north side.
For the first part, while 201.67 hectares will be acquired, the second part will require 323.52 hectares of land, spread over 36 villages in different parts of the district.
The civil cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 1,596,3 crore — Rs 639.07 crore for the first part and Rs 957.23 crore for the second part — while Rs 119.87 crore is being kept for the land acquisition.
The 30.3km first pack of the six-lane access-controlled greenfield highway will start from the intersection with the Amritsar-Bathinda NH-754-A near the village of Tallewal at Rampura Phul in Bathinda.
The second 45,243 km stretch from the Moga-Barnala NH-703 intersection will join the Delhi-Katra Highway (NE-5) at Ballowal village in Ludhiana.