THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The e-tender submission deadline for the construction of the proposed Outer Ring Road (ORR) project in the capital has been extended by 15 days due to the non-completion of the survey proceedings. The original last date for the submission of the tender was March 16.
“Since the survey proceedings are yet to be completed in some areas, including Puthusserrykonam, it has been decided to extend the date by 15 more days. It will also give ample time for the companies to participate. However, it will not affect the pace of the overall development of the project,” said P Pradeep, project director, NHAI.
As per the plan, the construction of the ORR has to begin in June. Recently, the NHAI marked this road as NH 866. The NHAI has divided the route into two reaches – the first from Navaikulam to Thekkada, and the second from Thekkada to Vizhinjam.
The estimated cost of the Navaikulam-Thekkada road is Rs 1,478.31 crore, and for the Thekkada-Vizhinjam stretch, it is Rs 1,489.15 crore. The proposed 77-kilometre highway will start from Vizhinjam and end at Navaikulam, near the Kollam border. A total of 348.09 hectares of land will be acquired for the project.
The link road between Thekkada and Mangalapuram was excluded from the first phase due to issues with landowners but will be constructed once those issues are settled. The ORR project received the Union government’s in-principle approval in 2019 and requires the acquisition of about 1,500 acres for the project under the Centre’s Bharatmala Pariyojana scheme.
Over 348 hectares of land to be acquired