Proposed elevated corridor on Greenfield e-way may raise budget, project to miss deadline
The NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) has sought permission from the Union Ministry of Surface Transport and the state government for constructing an 8.55 km-long elevated corridor on the upcoming Greenfield Expressway project to connect Faridabad with the Jewar International airport in Greater Noida. The corridor may require additional funds of Rs 800 crore. The initial budget of the 31.5 km-long expressway is Rs 1,660.50 cr. The deadline of June 2025 for the completion of the e-way project is set to be missed as only 20 to 25 per cent of the work has been accomplished, it is reported.
Dhiraj Singh, Project Director,NHAI, said, "While a survey for the construction of the elevated corridor is on, work will start on it after a nod from the authorities including the Union Ministry of Surface Transport and the state government". The additional cost of Rs 800 crore is proposed to be shared by NHAI and the state government, he said adding the deadline was sure to get extended by over an year.
Announced in August 2021, work on the project started in June 2023. Known as the spur package under the Bharatmala Pariyojna, the expressway will begin from Sector 65 in Ballabhgarh town and culminate at Dayanatpur village near Jewar in UP. It will pass through several villages including Chandawali, Sotai, Bahbalpur, Phaphunda, Panhera Khurd, Narhawali, Mahmadpur, Hirapur, Mohna and Chhainsa in the district, before crossing the Yamuna and the KGP Expressway. Around 22 km of Greenfield Expressway falls in Faridabad. The six-lane expressway aims to bolster transportation networks and foster economic growth along the Faridabad-Jewar corridor.
Greenfield Expressway
The project may take at least 18 more months, as around 75 per cent of the work is yet to be done
The proposed elevated corridor will connect Faridabad with the Jewar International airport in Greater Noida.
E-way budget likely to go up by Rs 800 cr
With a time period of two years set for its completion, it is being built on Hybrid Annuity Mode, according to which 40 per cent of the cost will be borne by NHAI and 60 per cent by the company which has been allotted the tender. The expressway will provide direct connectivity between Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Jewar airport, besides an access to the KGP Expressway.
However, the progress of work on this e-way was marred by agitation by the residents of several villages who staged a sit-in, which continued for 380 days, to demand access point to the expressway near Mohna village. Though the agitation got over on October 30, the pace of work on the e-way was not enough to ensure meeting the June 2025 deadline, said an official on condition of anonymity. It is claimed that the project may take at least 18 months time, as around 75 per cent of the work was yet to be done. An early resolution of the technical and budget issues due to a change in the design incorporating the construction of the elevated corridor will help in speeding up the work, it is believed.
