In a significant step forward for the development of Agra to lucknow green-field expressway, replies and clarifications raised by prospective bidders were finalised in a meeting of Bid Evaluation Committee, chaired by Principal Secretary, Infrastructure & Industrial Development, Sanjay Agarwal.
A detailed presentation was made by Project development consultant in this regard elaborating the project details, scope of work and qualification criteria as specified in Request for Qualification document for the prospective developers.
The meeting was attended by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CCEO) U.P. Expressways Industrial Development Authority Mukul Singhal and senior officials of departments of Finance, law, Planning, Forest, Environment, Public Works, Irrigation, etc.
It may be noted that Uttar Pradesh government's ambitious access-controlled Agra to lucknow six lane eco-friendly green-field expressway is proposed to be constructed on minimum distance and minimal agricultural land formula through Public Private Partnership mode.
Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the selection of Concessionaire was issued on April 4 while a Pre-Application Conference was held at New Delhi on April 24. In all 15 prominent developers attended this conference including GVK, GMR, ESSEl Infra, Vinci Concessions, Jai Prakash Associates, SREI Infrastructure, Supreme Infrastructure, PNC Infratech, SOMA Enterprise, Gammon, leighton Welspun, Il&FS Transportation, Uniquest, Transtroy, Punj lloyd.
To be developed with an estimated project cost of approximately Rs 9600 crore on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, the concession period for this expressway will be of 30 years including the construction period.
Agarwal said: "Robust road infrastructure facilities are crucial to spur industrial growth leading to inclusive socio-economic progress in the State. Hence, we are determined to ensure implementation of Agra-lucknow expressway project on the priority basis. "
Envisaged to provide a smooth link from Greater Noida to lucknow via Agra, this expressway will be built covering a distance of about 270 Kms. Once completed, Agra to lucknow Expressway would cut short the travelling time between lucknow and Agra from 6 hours to 3.30 hours.