Overcoming land acquisition and bureaucratic hurdles, the tenders for the work on converting the 26.7-km stretch of the NH-66 bypass from Kazhakuttam to Mukkola into a four-lane carriageway will be opened by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on April 10.
The corridor is part of the 43-km NH 66 (erstwhile NH 47) bypass conceived four decades ago from Kazhakuttam to Inchivila on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. As the efforts to take up the work on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode did not succeed due to lack of interest on part of companies, the NHAI opted for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract.
Under this, the Union government will bear the cost of development of 26 km and road-users will not have to pay toll. The aim of the NHAI is to complete the first-reach work in the next two years.
The technical and financial bids will be opened at the NHAI headquarters, New Delhi (on April 10). As many as 14 bidders had participated when tenders were floated under the BOT mode. “It is a two-cover system and we are hopeful of awarding the contract this time,” a top NHAI official told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
The NHAI has asked the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), and other offices to shifting the utilities to commence the work. But, the approvals have not been granted so far.
Of the Rs.778.41 crore sanctioned for the work, Rs.623.41 crore is for construction and the rest for ancillary works. A sum of Rs.440.86 crore was sanctioned for acquiring land for the remaining 16.3-km stretch up to Inchivila.
The 43-km stretch (Kazhakuttam to Inchivila) is part of the 212-km NH-66 bypass project of the NHAI from Thuravur, the work on which started in 1974. The 22-km first phase from Kazhakuttam to Kovalam was made a two-lane stretch 15 years ago and thrown open to traffic.
The project includes construction of four major bridges, including a new two-lane one at Akkulam; 60 culverts; a rail over-bridge at Chakka; and 11 underpasses. The bypass will decongest the city and will be a big boost to the proposed International Container Transshipment, Vizhinjam.
