Bidding of road projects may be reviewed to plug 'big gaps'

Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath today said the bidding process for road construction might be modified to ensure projects remained viable and were completed on time.

Nath said that for certain projects there were “big gaps” between L1 and L2 bidders, which were holding back the awarding of tenders. He said “measures” would be taken, without giving details.

We need to ensure roads are built and roads can be built only by viable bids,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 156th annual general meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

Although Nath had set out an initial target of building 20 km of roads every day in this financial year, he said the current rate stood at about 13 km a day.

In an unrelated announcement, Nath also said the government might make common toll technology mandatory in national highways by mid-next year.