Delhi: The Ministry of Roads and Transport has officially greenlit the construction of seven national highways in Andhra Pradesh under the first phase of the Bharatmala Project. Although these projects were sanctioned last year, the tendering process had been delayed. Now, with approval from the central government, construction will commence for all the projects simultaneously. A recent letter has been sent to the State Roads and Buildings Department to begin the works.
The combined length of these highways is 384 km, with the project cost now revised from the initial Rs 6,646 crore to Rs 6,280 crore. Among the key projects is the widening of the Kondamodu-Perecherla section. Below are the details of the major highways included:
- NH 167 AG: 49.917 km of road to be expanded into four lanes at a cost of Rs 881.61 crore.
- Sangameswaram-Nallakaluva and Veligonda-Nandyala (NH 167): A 62.571 km stretch to be widened into two lanes at Rs 601 crore.
- Nandyala-Kurnool/Kadapa border section (NH 167K): 62 km of road to be upgraded at a cost of Rs 691 crore.
- NH 440 Vempally to Chagalamarri: A 78.95 km section to be expanded into two and four lanes at a cost of Rs 1,321 crore.
- Muddanur-Hindupuram section (NH 716G): A 33.58 km stretch to be expanded into four lanes at Rs 808 crore.
- Muddanur-B.Kottapalli (NH 7168): A 56.5 km stretch to be widened into four lanes at Rs 1,019.97 crore.
- Pendurthi to S. Kota (NH 516B): A 40.5 km stretch to be expanded into two and four lanes at Rs 956.21 crore.
Tenders for the first two projects have already been called, and two companies have been selected as the lowest bidders (L-1). The prices for these projects were fixed, and revised estimates have been made. The expansion of the Kondamodu-Perecherla road will include the construction of two bypasses at Sattenapalli and Medikonduru.
