Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the four-laning of the 4.5-km stretch from Pravachambalam to Kodinada of the 29.2-km Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch of the National Highway 66 on January 24.
Overcoming hurdles to the scheme for the last three years, the Public Works Department National Highway Wing has finally awarded the work to Uralunkal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd (ULCCS) for ₹112 crore, paving the way for commencement of works under the project.
The Chief Minister will formally kick off the works of the Reach II at a function to be organised at Pravachambalam Junction, according to Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran.
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Retendered
The ₹97.54-crore works for Reach II of the project were retendered after the contractor who had been awarded the work backed out following the government’s refusal to increase the estimate beyond the 10% hike. City-based Sreedhanya Constructions that executed Reach I works from Karamana to Pravachambalam was the lone bidder for Reach II also when bids were invited in June last year.
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Following this, the government was forced to revise the estimate for the work and ULCCS bagged the contract. The funds for the Reach II had been mobilised from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
The PWD NH wing is the executing agency of the works. A sum of ₹281 crore had been spent on land acquisition for the corridor.
Administrative sanction
For the next 1.5-km stretch from Balaramapuram to Vazhimukku, the government has given administrative sanction for acquiring land. The Minister said steps to finalise the alignment for four-laning of the 18.7-km stretch from Vazhimukku to Kaliyikkavila on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border are being taken.