NHAI launches Rs. 1,710-cr road project

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)

In order to add to fast track the road building process in the downstream south, NHAI is all set to start the construction work of the six-lane Kozhikode bypass stretching from Vengalam to Idimuzhikkal on NH-66 at an investment of Rs. 1,710 crore. The nodal agency has awarded the contract to Hyderabad-based Krishna Mohan Construction Private Limited (KMC), said transport ministry sources, claiming that the project is a part of the National Highway Development Project Phase-III. The technical sanction had already been secured for the detailed project report, Manager P.K. Suresh, NHAI, said, explaining that the project will be executed in the hybrid annuity mode whereby it will contribute 40% of the project cost to start work while the remaining investment has to be made by the contractor. The expansion of the 28.8-km Kozhikode bypass into a six-lane carriageway is expected to bring respite from the bottlenecks at Malaparamba, Thondayad and Ramanattukara as currently traffic movement from the Vadakara side and Kozhikode mini bypass (from West Hill Chungam to Meenchanda) chocks the Kozhikode bypass as after the commissioning of the project vehicles proceed to Calicut airport and Thrissur and vice versa without entering into the city.