Chinese firm secures Rs.850 cr road projects

Quingdao Constructions, which is a China-based road building major, has been awarded the work of four-laning the 17.4km-stretch from Karaswada to Bambolim, excluding the Mandovi bridge project at an investment of Rs.850 crore. In this connection, the company has entered into a joint venture with a Hyderabad firm for the project. Another Hyderabad-based company Navyuga Constructions has bagged the contract for four-laning of the 25km-stretch from Patradevi to Karaswada. While the Karaswada to Bambolim contract is of Rs.850 crore, the Patradevi to Karaswada project has been awarded for Rs.630 crore. The four-laning project, funded by the central government, includes roads of two carriageways of two lanes each on either side with a median dividing the two carriageways, footpaths on either side and service lane that gives enough buffer to the highway vehicles. Work on the Karaswada to Bambolim stretch has already begun in areas where the land is already in the state's possession. The deadline set for both the sections is two years from the commencement of work. Under the multi-crore project, the national highway is slated to be widened from its current two-lane structure to four lanes.