Valsad: Package 8 of the Vadodara–Mumbai section of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, once operational, will give the expressway connectivity to Valsad in south Gujarat. The package stretches between Gandeva (near Kharel Interchange) in Navsari to Jujuwa village in Valsad. But the question of when this will happen has found an answer now, as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued a fresh tender for completion of long-pending work in this 36-km-long package. The bids are set to open in the first week of March, and after all the process, the work completion deadline has been kept at 1.5 years.

After the failure of Roadways Solutions India Infra Ltd to complete the project and a High Court order upholding the termination of the contract by NHAI, the authority issued a fresh tender last week, and after the process, the work is set to begin in early April. After that, the 1.5 years are likely to end in October 2027, a couple of months before the Gujarat Assembly elections.

Therefore, one could presume that the authorities would want the completion of this package on time so that it can become operational before the model code of conduct for elections comes in place.

Work to witness two monsoons!

Even though most of the land acquisition of the project and marking is done in this package, the progress is only 5% complete, meaning that most of the work, from earthwork, levelling, dry lean concrete to the final PQC laying followed by finishing work, will have to be carried out in this 36-km-long package. Now, the task of the company that wins the bid will be to move at a very good pace because the two monsoon seasons will fall within this 1.5-year deadline and we know that monsoon tends to lash south Gujarat the most, so work during this period takes a hit.

Why the delay in completion of this package?

The package 8 consists of an 87-km stretch of the Vadodara–Virar section of the 1,386-km Delhi–Mumbai Expressway that has seen negligible progress in past years. The other packages are 9 (Jujuwa to Karvad) and 10 (Karvad to Talasari Interchange near the Maharashtra border).

The construction contracts were initially awarded in 2021 to Pune-based Roadway Solutions India Infra Ltd (RSIIL). However, persistent delays led to two packages being cancelled in March 2023. They were later re-awarded to the same firm, RSIIL, again in November 2023 after it emerged as the lowest bidder in the tender process. Later, as the company did not carry out work in the stipulated time even after the second tender, the NHAI terminated the contract for package 8, an action which was two weeks ago upheld by the Delhi High Court, leading the way for this new tender. DeshGujarat