THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even though the land acquisition proceedings for the proposed six-lane NH 66 of Kazhakoottam- Kadampattukonam on Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam border hit a roadblock due to stiff opposition from land owners near Attingal and a High Court stay order, the proceedings of the Kollam bypass to Kadampattukonam in Kollam district have made significant progress.
The tender for the construction of this 31.25-km stretch has been awarded to New Delhi-based Shivalaya Constructions. According to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the work will begin soon by widening the existing road into a six-lane stretch with service roads. Distribution of compensation to the land owners is nearing completion. The technical bid for the tender opened on August 25. Six firms took part in tender process.
After examining the technical bid, financial bids were opened on September 7. Shivalaya Constructions won the contract as it bid the lowest amount. NHAI officials said the preliminary proceedings have started to hand over the acquired land to the contractor to start the work. Earlier, the tender work for the Kottankulangara bypass at Kollam- Alappuzha border was completed. It was won by Vishwasamudra Engineering Pvt Ltd.
With this, the six-laning of NH 66 in Kollam district is inching closer to reality. The total cost for the development of NH 66 in Kollam district is `1,248 crore which includes the widening of existing Kollam bypass road.
Meanwhile, the preliminary proceedings, including the completion of land acquisition, have not been completed on Kazhakoottam- Kadampattukoanm stretch as the authorities of Thiruvarattukavu Devi temple at Attingal had approached the court and secured a stay order against acquiring 0.04 hectares of land that belongs to the temple for the bypass work.
The 29-km NH-66 stretch is a major segment of NH 66 as it will be the gateway to the capital city from northern parts of the state. The capital district will be better connected to northern districts once this stretch is widened. Sadly, NHAI could not vacate the stay order so far which delayed the road development for months.
EPC model
The Kazhakootam-Kadampattukonam stretch will be developed as per standards of the Indian Road Congress and will be constructed on Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) model.