Kundli-Manesar section of KMP Expressway gets Haryana cabinet nod

Essel Infrasprojects will be executing the 83.32 kilometre six-laned road link

The Cabinet Sub Committee on Infrastructure under the Chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today approved the construction of 83.32 kilometre six-laned Kundli-Manesar Section of 136-km long Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway Project spanning five districts.

The Cabinet Sub Committee under the Chairmanship of Khattar comprises the Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, Public Works Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Minister of State for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Independent Charge) Krishan Kumar Bedi.

Managing Director of Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) Vineet Garg informed the Cabinet Sub Committee that the project involves the construction of a six-lane expressway instead of the earlier proposed four-lane road. He informed that the estimated total project cost of the project as per the calculation of net present value of the lowest bid would come to a sum of Rs 1,680 crore, which is less than the stimated project cost of Rs 1,863 crore.

The financial consultants of the project M/s. Almondz described the project details involving the annuity period of 17 years, including the construction period of 2.5 years. The period for obtaining financial closure has been prescribed as six months and the likely date of completion of construction will be August 2018.

It was informed in the meeting that  M/s Essel Infraprojects Limited  has quoted Semi Annual Annuity Amount of Rs 157.50 crore, which is lesser by Rs 25.86 crore as compared to the internal assessment of Rs 183.36 crore with 15 per cent Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR). Tender for 83.320 kilometres Kundli-Manesar Section were invited on Fixed Semi-Annual Annuities basis. The other four agencies that participated in the bidding process included M/s Shapoorji Pallonji Roads Private Limited, M/s IL and FS Transportation Network Limited, M/s Ashoka Buildcon Limited and M/s Oriental Structural Engineers Private Limited.

It was informed in the meeting that the work of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMPE) project was earlier allotted to the concessionaire M/s KMP Expressway Limited on January 31, 2006. The completion date or commercial operation date was fixed as July 29, 2009 with a toll collection period of 20 years and nine months. But the concessionaire failed to complete the work even upto December 2014. It was also informed in the meeting that the Supreme Court in its order dated January 30, 2015, had directed the state government to award the contract for the project to new Concessionaire urgently. Subsequently, the Concession Agreement of M/s KMP Expressway Limited was terminated on March 19, 2015.

In the meeting, it was informed that the work of Manesar-Palwal Section has already been allotted to M/s KCC Buildcon Private Limited – Dilip Buildcon Private Limited (JV) on Item Rate Tender basis with total financial effect of Rs 401.50 crores. The work on this section of expressway has been started and is likely to be completed by January 2016.

The 136-km-long Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway is slated to pass through five districts of  Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Mewat and Palwal districts. While the Manesar-Palwal Section would be completed in nine months, the Manesar-Kundli section would be completed in a period of two-and-a-half years. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation is the executing agency of the development of this Expressway.

The completion of this project would not only provide high speed link to Northern Haryana with its Southern Districts like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Palwal but also de-congest National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi as the traffic from the Northern parts of the Country destined to other regions need not pass through NCT of Delhi, thus reducing pollution tremendously.