HYDERABAD: Work on the proposal to build the first-ever road tunnel in Telangana has picked pace, with the State government giving the nod to M/s Aarvee Associates Engineers and Consultants Pvt. Ltd. to carry out a feasibility study and make a detailed project report (DPR). The tunnel would be dug using a Tunnel Boring Machine.
The Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department has issued orders approving the proposal submitted by the GHMC. As per the orders, the agency will take up a feasibility study at an estimated cost of Rs 68.44 lakh and a DPR study at a cost of Rs 2,92,64,000, totalling Rs 3.61 crore.
Aarvee Associates will take up the work in two phases -- in the first phase, only Feasibility Study would be done and in Phase II, preparation of the DPR would be done. The consultant would take up Phase II only after the State government gives go ahead with DPR preparation duly considering the feasibility report vis-a-vis the cost-benefit analysis of the project.
Earlier, three agencies -- LEA Associates South Asia Private Limited, Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers and Consultants Private Limited and SMEC India Private Limited expressed interest in the project, with Aarvee Associates being the L1 bidder.
The main objective of the proposed project is to provide direct seamless underground connectivity to ease the traffic situation around KBR Park junctions and protect the ecology around KBR Park. The State government has assigned the task to the GHMC and invited bids through international competitive bidding.
The tunnel will be on the lines of the 9.20 km long Syama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel in J&K that connects Kashmir to the rest of the country. In Mumbai, efforts are also being made to dig a highway road tunnel.
Earlier, for the Hyderabad tunnel, the tentative length was 10 km but it was to go ahead with a 6.30 km linear length. GHMC officials told Express that the agency will be asked to complete the feasibility study in six months.
Point-to-point
The 6.30 km long ‘Highway Road Tunnel’ will be dug from Road No. 45 to KBR Entrance Junction (1.70 km), Road No. 12 to the Tunnel Junction point (1.10 km), KBR Entrance to NFCL Junction (2 km) and three approaches of 500 metres each (1.50 km) on three sides.