Four laning of Kundapur-Goa border

Four laning of Kundapur-Goa border

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, March 8: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will take up four laning of 190 kms on NH-17 from Kundapur to Goa border. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Rs 1,200 crore plan was prepared by Span Consultants Pvt Ltd.

The Request for Qualification (RFQ) process or tendering is likely to be initiated by NHAI by mid-2011. This four-laning is being done under the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) Phase III, on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) Toll basis.

Currently, the four laning of Surathkal to Kundapur is in progress and when Kundapur-Goa section is complete, it will offer users a seamless driving experience plus savings in terms of time and fuel.

NHAI sources said the project may be taken up as a single package of 190 kms or in two packages depending upon the viability.

RFQ is a process to select and shortlist pre-qualified applications for the bid stage or to appoint the selected bidder for the projects. After shortlisting applicants, the NHAI asks for Request for Proposals (RFP) from bidders and later the bidder offering the lowest amount of grant sought from authority or the highest premium / revenue shared offer would be selected.

The whole project is through Private-Public-Partnership (PPP). The Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) lease period will be determined later by the planning committee depending upon the return on investment. Usually, the project deadline for such projects is 30 months.

The DFR indicates that there is a need to widen the existing road as the Average Daily Traffic (ADT), between Kundapur-Goa border is 14,191 passenger car units (PCU) of tollable traffic (only four-wheelers are tollable). The total traffic on this route is a little more than 17,000 PCU.

TOI