NHAI invites bids for Rs 1,878-cr Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has floated a fresh tender to invite bids for the Rs 1,878.31-crore Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass.

The officials concerned said the 19.2-km six-lane bypass would help motorists avoid the heavy rush on the existing overlapping portion of the four-lane National Highway (NH-5) and NH-7, which passes through the highly urbanised areas of Zirakpur and Panchkula.

The development assumes significance as the project was conceived over a decade back. Taking note of the inordinate delay, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 9, gave in-principle approval to construct the bypass in Punjab and Haryana on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).

A senior NHAI official told The Tribune here on Wednesday that the last date for submitting the bids is June 16 and the bids received will be opened on June 17. The project will be awarded to the lowest bidder by July 31.

The entire land required for the project was acquired by the Punjab Government and handed over to the NHAI in 2020. The bypass has been planned to facilitate a smooth traffic movement and ease the tricity traffic by extending the connectivity and effectively diverting the traffic around Zirakpur and Panchkula.

The 19.2-km road, which will comprise a 6.195-km elevated stretch, five flyovers, nine light vehicular underpasses, one vehicular underpass, one railway overbridge and one each major and minor bridge, will commence from the Zirakpur-Patiala junction on NH-7 and terminate at the Zirakpur-Parwanoo junction on NH-5, after traversing through Mohali and Panchkula districts in Punjab and Haryana, respectively.

The bypass will provide vital connectivity to Sector 24 and 25 in Panchkula as well as to the outer areas of the city.

“The project received approval from the CCEA in April, following which the bids have been invited and this NH project is currently in the bidding stage,” the official said.

He disclosed that subject to the fulfilment of all condition precedents, the construction of the bypass will commence in January next and will be completed within an estimated period of two years.

According to the detailed project report (DPR), the primary purpose of the project is to ease up the traffic congestion in Zirakpur, Panchkula and surrounding areas by diverting traffic coming from Patiala, Delhi and Chandigarh international airport in Mohali sides and providing a direct connectivity to Himachal Pradesh.

“The bypass will not only reduce the travel time but also ensure hassle-free traffic movement in the highly urbanised sections of NH-7, NH-5 and NH-152,” he added.

FLAGSHIP PROJECT: GADKARI

"It’s a flagship project under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, aimed at decongesting the busy Zirakpur-Chandigarh corridor. The bypass will link the tricity while removing traffic bottlenecks. We have taken up traffic decongestion in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali with the development of a ring road," said Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways