Kundli-Manesar section of KMP e-way gets nod

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28

A Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure has approved the construction of 83.32-km-long six-lane Kundli-Manesar section of the 136-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway spanning five districts.

Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) Managing Director Vineet Garg said the project involved the construction of a six-lane expressway instead of the earlier proposed four-lane road. He said the estimated cost of the project as per the calculation of net present value of the lowest bid would come to Rs1,680 crore — less than the estimated project cost of Rs1,863 crore.

The financial consultants of the project, Almondz, described the project details involving the annuity period of 17 years, including the construction period of two-and-a-half years. The period for obtaining the financial closure has been prescribed as six months and the likely date of completion of construction will be August 2018.

After the recommendation of the financial consultants, the sub-committee — comprising Engineer-in-Chief, Public Works (Building and Roads) Department; Managing Director, Haryana State Roads and Bridges Development Corporation; Chief Engineer (National Highways); Chief Engineer (Roads); and Chief Engineer, HSIIDC — recommended the allotment to the lowest bidder.

The committee of secretaries on infrastructure, in its meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, also recommended the lowest bidder on July 9 for the consideration and approval of the Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure.

It was informed at the meeting that Essel Infraprojects Limited had quoted semi-annual annuity amount of Rs157.5 crore lesser by Rs25.86 crore as compared to the internal assessment of Rs183.36 crore with 15 per cent Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR).

The tenders for the 83.32-km Kundli-Manesar section were invited on fixed semi-annual annuities basis. The other four agencies that participated in the bidding process were Shapoorji Pallonji Roads Private Limited, IL&FS Transportation Network Limited, Ashoka Buildcon Limited and Oriental Structural Engineers Private Limited.

The work of KMP Expressway was earlier allotted to the concessionaire, KMP Expressway Limited, on January 31, 2006. The completion date or commercial operation date was fixed as July 29, 2009, with a toll collection period of 20 years and nine months. But the concessionaire failed to complete the work even up to December 2014.

It was also informed at the meeting that the Supreme Court, in its order dated January 30, 2015, had directed the state government to award the contract for the project to a new concessionaire urgently. Subsequently, the concession agreement of KMP Expressway Limited was terminated on March 19.

The work of the Manesar-Palwal section had already been allotted to KCC Buildcon Private Limited–Dilip Buildcon Private Limited (joint venture) on the item rate tender basis with a total financial effect of Rs401.5 crore. The work on this section has been started and is likely to be completed by January 2016.

The project, once completed, would not only provide high-speed link to northern Haryana with its southern districts such as Gurgaon, Faridabad and Palwal, but also de-congest the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi as the traffic from the northern parts of the country destined to other regions need not pass through NCT, thus reducing pollution.