Despite two tenders by NHAI earlier this year, no firm has responded to accept the corrective works for Hyderabad-Vijayawada NH65
Posted Date – Tue, 02 May 23 at 08:40 AM
Hyderabad: The Center’s proposal to rehabilitate accident-prone spots and build a Vehicle Underpass (VUP) on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway 65 has hit a snag as no firm has come forward to undertake the works.
Despite two tenders by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) earlier this year, no company responded to accept the rectification works. The center conducted a detailed survey of the highway, identified 17 black spots along the route and even approved Rs 450 crore to undertake the work, but the construction company did not come forward to undertake the work as they claimed it was not feasible.
The section of NH-65 between Hyderabad and Vijayawada was supposed to be upgraded to six lanes, but the proposal was dropped as the center said it was already four lanes and would be sufficient, according to Roads and Buildings Department officials. The current contractor was disappointed due to the amount of traffic on the road and showed no interest in carrying out corrective works at the identified black spots.
The expansion was delayed as franchise GMR companies went to court over several issues.
In fact, Road Transport and Road Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha that there is no need to convert Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Road 65 to six lanes as the Nandigama section in Union Krishna district already has four lanes. He further said that the works on the six-lane expressway had started from the 15th to the 40th kilometer of the NH-65, so there was no need to upgrade the entire section. However, he assured that corrective measures will be taken to reduce accidents on the NH-65 blackspot.
The union minister even ordered NHAI officials to conduct a detailed investigation of accident-prone areas of the expressway and take corrective measures. Although the center has completed the survey and even invited bids to undertake the project, so far no company has come forward.
Previously, Nalgonda and Bhongir Congress Lok Sabha members N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament and filed a petition with Nitin Gadkari, but the Center rejected their plea.
