GMR's AP highway races to finish line

Infrastructure major GMR’s four-lane Vijayawada-Hyderabad road project, which is part of NH-9, is moving ahead at a blistering pace.

If everything goes fine, the 181-km stretch, which is slated for commencement of operations from October this year, will be thrown open to traffic three months earlier.

OB Raju,  managing director of GMR Highways, told DNA: “We are planning to complete it by June and allow traffic on the road. Even at the time of bidding the project, we were confident of completing it at least three months prior to the scheduled launch.”

The company bagged the project with an outlay of Rs2,200 crore in 2009 through an international competitive bidding. Though Punj Lloyd is part of the consortium, the company is expected to remain in the group till the declaration of COD.

“The four-lane road would have three toll plazas. We are yet to decide on the quantum of toll. We are still working on the issue and the finalisation of toll is linked to several issues, including inflation. Though we had worked out the traffic estimates at the time of bidding, we will have to revisit them ahead of opening up of the road to traffic,” Raju explained.

The BOT project carries a 25-year concession period and the company has an option of converting it into a six-lane road subsequently.

“The six-laning would depend on the traffic flow. We will take a call on it later,” he said.

The Vijayawada-Hyderabad project is the biggest of the road projects the company has in its portfolio. Currently, the infrastructure major has about six operating road assets, with the stretch between Adloor and Gundla Pochampalli in AP on NH-7 being the longest with a total length of about 107 kms.

Apart from the Vijayawada-Hyderabad road, the other projects in execution mode include the 29.65 km Chennai Outer Ring Road and the 99-km Hungund-Hospet line in Karnataka.