Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has floated a tender for a six-lane elevated corridor (EC) in Goa on EPC mode.
The six-lane EC will extend from 508.000 km to 513.150 km including approach roads on NH-66.
The project cost is estimated at Rs 474.64 crore, and the work is to be executed within 24 months, followed by a maintenance period of 10 years.
The primary objective of this project is to alleviate the traffic congestion on NH-66, one of the busiest routes leading to Panaji city. Furthermore, the project will enhance accessibility to the recently commissioned Mopa airport and strengthen the road infrastructure in Goa, ultimately providing ease to commuters.
Once the elevated corridor is completed, it is expected to give a significant boost to tourism and industry in the state. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, emphasized the project’s potential to stimulate economic growth in Goa.
The MoRTH had approved Goa’s annual plan 2022-23 for national highway works with a total outlay of Rs 2,228 crore.
The projects include a six-lane, Rs 600 crore flyover from Guirim to Teen Building, Porvorim. Earlier, a similar project, proposed in 2020 had hit the roadblock after the contractor expressed unwillingness to continue with the project.
The projects also include the construction of four-laning with paved shoulder from Navelim to Cuncolim section, a 6.5km-stretch at a cost of Rs 361 crore, from the end of the Canacona bypass (Mashem) to Pollem, an 8km-stretch along the Goa-Karnataka border at a cost of Rs 177 crore.
Also, decks have been cleared for the expansion of the NH 17 at Karmalghat as the Union government sanctioned Rs 79 crore towards land acquisition. The project is four-laning of around 4 km road stretch.
Besides, there is approval of `1.5 crore for construction of a culvert on NH-66; `3 crore for construction of another culvert on NH-66 from Karaswada to Bambolim and `12 crore for construction of Margao Western Bypass for connectivity from the wholesale fish market to the South Goa collectorate and for merging of the left-out road stretch at Dramapur village.
