NHAI looks to cut cost of Akshardham-epe road

Agency mulling over reducing no. of lanes from 6 to 4

NEW DELHI: Nine months after Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the 31.3-km-long corridor between Akshardham (Delhi) and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is assessing its “financial viability”, and exploring options to bring down the cost.

Tenders for the ₹2,820-crore project, which is part of the Centre’s ambitious plan to decongest Delhi, were floated in January this year.

The exercise is being done following directions from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to prioritise highway projects after evaluating them financially, senior NHAI officer in know of the development said.

The decision comes after the Prime Minister’s Office, in August,expressedconcernabout road infrastructure projects becoming financially unviable.

The NHAI is now exploring ways to bring down the project cost of the six-lane, access-controlled corridor, which passes through some of the most-congested areas in east and northeast Delhi, such as Geeta Colony, Shastri Park and Khajuri Khas.

Of the total length of 31.3km, 14.75km is in Delhi of which 6.5-7km will be elevated.

“The project cost is high as large part of the corridor is elevated—of the 31.3km, 19kmstretch is elevated. We are assessing its financial viability and exploring remodelling options to bring down the cost,” the officer said, adding that the project one of the many being scrutinized.

“The project’s financial viability is being assessed along with that of other 300-odd highway projects under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-i. A report will be submitted to the ministry in a month or two,” he added.

Though the bids were invited in January, the last date to submit the bid was extended five times—most recently in September—as the project does not have financial clearance from the ministry. “Initially, the bid submission date was extended as it didn’t have financial clearance. But, in August we were asked to assess its financial viability,” another senior NHAI officer, who is a part of the project, said, explaining that the cost of highway projects

is recovered from toll. “In this case, cost of toll per vehicle is working out to be steep,” he said.

One of the options under consideration is to reduce the number of lanes from six to four on the 13km elevated section between Delhi-up Border to EPE. “Reducing the number of lanes is one option which will substantially lower the cost. We are exploring all options to make the project

viable,” the officer said.

The corridor is part of 155-kmlong NH-709B project (₹4,405-cr) between Akshardham and Saharanpur Bypass for seamless connectivity between Delhi and UP. It is aimed to take the load off Pushta Road, which has a peak traffic volume of 7,000-9,000 PCU (passenger car units). Pushta Road is flanked by densely-populated residential areas.