With a view to enhance participation of highway developers and contractors in the Centre’s Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North East, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has called a meeting in New Delhi on January 17th to discuss the major projects that are proposed to be undertaken in the region.
The meeting, chaired by the Road Transport and Highways Secretary, will be attended by the concerned officials of the central government, state governments of North East and highway developers and contractors who are either engaged in or keen to take up projects in the region. In addition to providing details of forthcoming projects, it will focus on the various measures that have been initiated so far by the MoRTH for North East and the prevailing local conditions.
The SARDP – NE began as a mega road development programme for the North East in 2005 to provide road connectivity to all district headquarters in the region by minimum two lane highway standards and also connect backward and remote areas, areas of strategic importance and neighboring countries. The programme, planned in two phases (A & B) including Arunachal Package, covers about 10,141 km. The Centre has approved two and four laning of various categories of roads measuring 6,418 km. in length under phase A and the Arunachal Package at an estimated cost of Rs. 33,688 crore. Till date, about 3,800 km. have either been sanctioned or awarded and the balance 2,618 km. is proposed to be awarded and implemented through item rate contract/Engineering, Procurement and Construction (lump sum)/Build-Operate-Transfer (annuity) mode. The agencies entrusted for execution of the works include state PWDs, Border Roads Organisation, National Highways Authority of India and the MoRTH.
In September last year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved three projects in Assam under Phase A of SARDP – NE to be implemented in the BOT (annuity) mode following the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer pattern. The projects include four laning of the Demow – Bogibil section of National Highway – 37 measuring 46 km. in length at an estimated cost of Rs. 522 crore, four laning of the Jorhat – Demow section of National Highway – 37 measuring 80 km. in length at an estimated cost of Rs. 963.21 crore and four laning of Numaligarh to Jorhat section of National Highway – 37 measuring 51 km. at an estimated cost of Rs. 644.60 crore. The project costs do not include cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.
