GMR Zero’s in on Rs.1, 100cr project

After emerging as the lowest bidder for the Tamil Nadu outer ring road project in Chennai, the GMR Infrastructure-led consortium is all set to secure 26.86 kms long project at an estimated investment of Rs. 1,100 crore on design-build-operate-transfer (DBOT) module.

According to an official spokesperson, the six lanes plus two service lanes state highway project on the periphery of Chennai when commissioned would enable south to north travelers to bypass the city and drive straight from southern parts of Tamil Nadu to Kolkata. Stretching from Vandalur to Nemillicheri section of the state with a concession period of 20 years including construction time, the road project involves the entire process of designing, construction, development, finance, operation and maintenance.

The state government is expected to issue the letter awarding the project in the next couple of days following which the consortium would work out the design and financial closure for the mega project. The other bidders who were vying for the project included Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Nagarjuna Construction, Soma Enterprises and IVRCL. The consortium which bagged the project is a special purpose vehicle formed by the GMR group and the Chennai-based infrastructure firm, NAPC. Both the consortium partners would directly be involved in some of the construction works and the rest would be contracted out to firms engaged in the infrastructure sector, Managing Director O Bangaru Raju said.

He said adding that the Greenfield project, which will be built matching world standards, will ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic and after completion will give a tremendous boost to real estate development, trade and commerce activities in the region. The GMR Infrastructure, besides operating and modernizing the Delhi International Airport is also building a brand new integrated terminal T3 in the national capital which is being commissioned on scheduled time for the upcoming Commonwealth games in 2010.