Mangalore : National Highway Phase 3 Makes Super Fast Progress
by Special Correspondent
Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Feb 27 : For Mangaloreans who are fed up with the slow pace of the work of the Port Connectivity Project taken up almost five years ago on NH 17, NH 13 and NH 48, there is some good news. The four-laning work on Kundapur-Surathkal and Nanthur –Talapady stretch , a total about 90 kms, is going on in full swing and the work will be completed by March 2013. This project comes under phase 3 of National Highway Development Project (NHDP) and the work on this entire stretch involves 2 flyovers in Pumpwell (Mahaveer Circle) and Thokkottu junction, two vehicular underpasses (VUP), one over pass, 10 cattle underpasses, 9 pedestrian underpasses (PUP), 9 major bridges ( including the Netravati bridge) and equal number of minor bridges, one railway over bridge at Ekkur, 5 truck lay byes, 50 bus bays and bus shelters and 3 toll plazas and two bypasses, at Mulki and Padubidri. 40 kms of service road within the city limits is also covered under this project.
Except the Pangala bridge, 8 other existing bridges will be set right and parallel bridges will be constructed as part of four-laning work. The existing Pangala bridge which has faulty alignment, will be completely abandoned and a 6-lane new bridge will be constructed instead. The land acquisition process for the project is going on and final notification is under completion. NHAI is facing 5 litigations at the moment, in this stretch of the project. One litigation case pertaining to Nanthoor bypass is in the Supreme Court and judgment is expected within a week, says Project Director Prashanth N Gawasane.
The project has acquired environmental and CRZ clearance and work has been going on from September 2010.
According to Project Engineer Srinivas Rao, work is going on simultaneously on 75 kms stretch on Kundapur-Surathkal and 17 kms stretch on Nanthoor-Talapadi. “Work is going on day and night as we have to complete the project within the stipulated time. While construction activity is done mostly during the day dumping and mechanic work is carried out during night. We have about 250 workers including 50 odd engineers and supervisors at work. The entire project is carried out according to the specifications of NHAI under whose supervision we are carrying out the work”, Srinivas Rao pointed out.
Among the 9 bridges covered under the project, Netravathi bridge with the length of 804 metres is the longest one and work of this bridge including the minor bridge is going on in full swing. “Work of about 75 pillars out of the 120 pillars of Natravathi is completed and work on the remaining pillars is under progress. New gantry barge which will help in the erection of pre-casting of beams will be built within a few days. The contractors want to complete the building of pillars before the onset of monsoons”, said K M Hegde, Manager, Technical, NHAI. “The company has set up 3 wet mix macadam plants, 2 concrete botching plants and 2 hot-mix plants to speed up the work. So far our progress is 13 percent and this is as per schedule, ”, Gawasane asserts.
The entire project undertaken at a cost of about Rs. 670 crores is contracted to Hyderabad based Navayug Udupi Tollway Private Limited, a consortium of Navayug and Krishnapattna Port Company Limited, set up under the special purpose vehicle (SPV) project. Out of this Rs. 221.43 crores is borne by NHAI to make the project viable. The project is based on the concept of build-operate-transfer (BOT) and as per the agreement the project is to be completed within 910 days. The company is given a concession of 25 years that includes 910 days of construction period also. This BOT also known as public private partnership (PPP) is beneficial to the government because it does not have to invest in the project as the company will be investing after availing bank loans and they will plough back the investment in the form of toll which they are entitled to collect for the next 25 years. It also ensures that the company will maintain the road for this period.
Though the project is contracted to Navayug Udupi Tollway Private Limited, NHAI is responsible for its implementation. It has to acquire land, defend litigations, ensure shifting of utilities including electricity, water supply, drainage etc,. which is a time consuming and tedious process. NHAI has appointed independent consultants, Aarvee Associates to supervise the project work.
About 18,000 trees have been cut to implement NHDP phase 3 project, which is no doubt a huge loss and rightly so the forest department has raised a hue and cry. While Gawasane says that implementing any enormous project involves cutting of trees, which cannot be totally avoided, NHAI has paid Rs 1.96 crores to the forest department for afforestation purposes. NHAI also has plans to help the cause of environment by planting medium size saplings and trees. NHAI has also paid Rs 1.3 crores supervision charges to MESCOM for shifting the cables.
Gawasane points out that with the help and cooperation of people developmental work such as NHDP can be completed on a war footing. But litigation and other compulsions such as shifting of utilities takes long time. “We want full cooperation of the people so that we can complete the project well within the specified time. People should understand that development is for their benefit. Litigation issue and the issue involving shifting of cables had resulted in cancelling the Nanthoor flyover. It is a big loss to the people of Mangalore and they should realize it”, Gawasane declared.
Navayug Udupi Tollway Private Limited, which has been carrying out many prestigious projects in Bangalore and other places, possesses structural expertise to accomplish the task assigned to it. Going by the progress achieved in the last six months, this project is sure to be completed well in time, much to the consternation of many Mangaloreans.
The nine bridges that come under the project are:
Mabukala - 290 metres
Bhadragiri 87 metres
Kallyanpura 203 metres
Udyavara 261 metres
Pangala 116 metres
Mulki 174 metres
Pavanje 145 metres
Nethravathi 804 metres
Talapadi 70 metres