JAMMU: The National Highways Authority of India, MoRT&H, Government of India has now floated the e-tenders for the prestigious Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar-Katra Expressway stretch from Balsua in District Pathankot, Punjab to Satwari upto Fourth Tawi Bridge in the Jammu City.
The total length of this stretch is 97 km and estimated cost is 5495 Cr. The Construction period has been kept as two years and is targeted to be completed by 2024. Official spokesman said that the Expressway will reduce the distance between Delhi to Amritsar/Katra by about 40 km and enable the commuters to travel from Delhi to Amritsar within 4 to four and half hours and Delhi to Katra within 6 to six and half hours. It will not only provide shortest connectivity to religious cities of Amritsar and Katra but also provides shortest connectivity to industrial and economic hubs of Ambala in Haryana, UT of Chandigarh, Mohali, Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, in Punjab and Kathua, Samba and Jammu in J&K.
The Delhi Katra Expressway will be a complete access controlled Expressway with pay as per use closed tolling concept and an environmental friendly expressway with planned tree cover of about 10 lakh trees to improve carbon footprints. Entry and exit from the Expressway planned at designated interchanges on all NHs and major State Highways intersecting the expressway. For comfort of the road user, 40 Way Side Amenities including seven in J&K will be constructed. Length of main Expressway from Delhi to Katra including spurs to Amritsar and Jammu is 671 km with total estimated cost of Rs 35,000 Cr.
The bidding process for 14 out of 16 packages of Haryana and Punjab portion stands completed and Contractors have been selected. This stretch in J&K, he said, is divided into 4 packages out of which bids for one Pkg were invited on 13.05.2021 and two bids invited on 21.05.2021.
The DPR for the remaining brown-field stretch from Kunjwani to Domel upto Katra via existing NH-44 & NH-144 will also be finalized by end of June.
