THOSE WHO BAGGED CONTRACT: Sadbhav Engineering Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Ashoka Buildcon, Gayatri Projects Ltd and Oriental Structural Engineers have bagged six contracts for the execution of the eastern peripheral expressway. PROJECT'S IMPORTANCE: The project is being executed under the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode. The urgency for executing this vital link stems from mounting concerns over heavy vehicular traffic that passes through the city, in absence of the peripheral roads and comes in the wake of a January 2015 directive of a three-judge Supreme Court bench that ordered NHAI to wrap up the project on or before July 30, 2018. Rs 7,558 crore: Near total cost of the project, including Rs 1,795.20 crore for land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. [related-post] 1,568 hectares: The area of land government has already acquired, out of the total 1,631.50 hectares required for the project. BOT Vs EPC: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had, in fact, invited applications on BOT as well as EPC mode but failed to receive even a single bid for the project on BOT basis. The authority received 167 Requests for Quotation (RFQ) (for all six packages) by the bid date for EPC mode. And the project was finally awarded for execution on EPC mode to five private players. 135-km Eastern Peripheral Expressway will provide signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal while the Western Expressway connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana. Alignment of EPE starts near Kundli (Km 36.083 on NH-1), traverses to cross the Yamuna (EPE chainage 12.6 km), crosses SH-57 at 15.360 km, (near Mawikalan) NH-58 at 44.5 km (near Duhai), NH-24 at 52.19 km (near Dasna), NH-91 at 72.725 km (near Beel Akbarpur), Kasna-Sikandra road (near Sirsa), Taj Expressway (near village Jaganpur Afjalpur) at 91.900, river Yamuna (EPE chainage Km. 102.600), Atali-Chhainsa Road (near village Maujpur) and ends at Palwal (64.330 km on NH-2).
