In a major boost to infrastructure in the North-East, NHAI has signed a concession agreement with M/s Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon Pvt. Ltd. for the development of the 121-km long Guwahati Ring Road. The agreement was signed in the presence of NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav (1995-batch IAS officer) and senior officials.
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The project, to be executed in Build-Operate-Toll (BOT) mode with zero grant, involves a total cost of Rs. 5,729 crore, while the gross project cost stands at Rs. 7,000 crore. The Assam Government will contribute Rs. 1,270 crore, covering 50% of land costs, exemption from royalty on aggregates, and a waiver of the state’s GST portion. The concession period is 30 years, including a four-year construction phase.
The Guwahati Ring Road will be developed in three key sections:
- A 56-km, 4-lane access-controlled Northern Guwahati Bypass
- Expansion of the existing 8-km NH-27 bypass from four lanes to six lanes
- Improvement of the existing 58-km NH-27 bypass
- Additionally, a 3-km-long major bridge over the Brahmaputra River will be constructed as part of the project.
This ambitious road network will ease congestion in Guwahati City, providing seamless connectivity for long-distance traffic along NH-27—the gateway to the North-East. It will bypass major traffic from West Bengal and Bihar headed towards Silchar, Nagaland, and Tripura, and enhance connectivity to major towns including Siliguri, Shillong, Jorhat, Tezpur, Jogighopa, and Barpeta.
This is the first contract under the modified Model Concession Agreement (MCA), setting a precedent for future BOT-based projects. As part of ‘Vision 2047’, the Government of India aims to expand high-speed corridors, leveraging Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to develop a world-class National Highway Network.
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