BJD MP From Odisha Raises Pending National Highway Expansion Works In Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: BJD Rajya Sabha MP, Muzibulla Khan, drew the attention of Rajya Sabha towards the need to expedite completion of NH-53 expansion projects in Odisha during the ongoing monsoon session.

Dubbing it as an urgent matter, he highlighted how the four-laning of the Duburi-Chandikhole stretch on NH-53 was facing severe challenges.

The MP claimed that the construction work on this stretch has led to significant safety hazards, resulting in daily fatalities and posing a serious risk to the local community.

Duburi-Chandikhole four-laning project has missed 2022 deadline

The work for four-laning of the Duburi-Chandikhole stretch of the national highway had started in February, 2020 and has already missed its 2022 August deadline.

The project involves rehabilitation and upgradation of existing 2-lane to 4-lane standards from Duburi to Chandikhole Section of NH 200 (New NH 53) from 388.376km to 428.074km. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is executing the project as a joint venture with AJRITL (AJR Infra And Tolling Limited—an infrastructure project development company promoted by Gammon India Limited) and Gammon Engineers and Contractors Private Limited (GECPL).

According to the data on AJRITL official website, the joint venture partners signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) agreement with NHAI followed by a settlement agreement in January, 2020 for a quoted bid price of Rs 577 crore for executing the entire work within 30 months.

Other key pending projects

The MP has also cited about other key national highway expansion projects in Odisha that need to be expedited. Some of these projects are:
1) Six-laning of the Bhadrak-Balasore section of NH-16
2) Four-laning of the Rajamunda to Barkote section of NH-23
3) Four-laning of NH-26 from Bargarh to Barpali and Barpali to Balangir
4) Widening of NH-49 from Jharsuguda to Bhojpur
5) Four-laning of Angul-Sambalpur and Cuttack-Angul sections of NH-55
6) Construction of a bypass on NH-59 near Berhampur town, including a four-lane road overbridge (RoB)
7) Six-laning of the Dhanara-Hatibena section of NH-130-CD

Expansion of 20 NHs in Odisha was pending as per last year’s data

Even as the previous Naveen Patnaik government had urged the Centre multiple times to expedite pending national highway projects, the expansion of at least 20 national highways in Odisha were under various stages of bidding and construction, as reported by The New Indian Express in 2023.

According to the data laid in the Parliament last year, 68 expansion projects related to 20 NHs were taken up by the NHAI. While 42 projects were ongoing last year, the remaining 26 were either under bidding or the projects were yet to start after the awarding of the work order.