KOZHIKODE: KMC Construction Limited, Hyderabad, is the only qualified group for the Rs 1,425-crore financial bid for the proposed six-lane Kozhikode bypass from Idimuzhikkal to Vengalam. It quoted the lowest amount for the bid which closed on Thursday. The technical bid for the work had started on December 21, with five companies expressing interest for the first six-lane bypass in the state.
Two Kerala-based companies bowed out as they could not meet the financial network requirements for the project, said Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan.
The KMC Construction Limited had earlier completed the Mannuthi-Angamali bypass and is working on the Mannuthi-Vadakkanchery bypass. The 28.4-km bypass is part of the Kanyakumari-Panavel national highway 66, which would be a milestone in the development of the region, he said. The KMC group quoted six per cent above the bid. The NHAI chairman is entitled to sanction approval for up to five percent above the bid and so the board has to take it up, according to officials. The board will meet within two weeks and the sanction would not be delayed, they said.
Once the board approves the bidder, a letter of acceptance and a letter of award will be issued and the work will start in the next five months. It will take 30 months to finish the work. The Ministry for Surface Transport had recently approved the project for converting the city by-pass into six-lane. The cost per kilometre will be Rs 50.31 crore, which makes it one of the most expensive national highways constructed yet. Seven flyovers will be built on the highway passing through Vengalam, Pooladikkunnu, Thondayad, Cyberpark-Palazhi, Pantheerankavu, Azhinjilam and Ramanattukara. Overpasses have been allotted at Malaparamba and Vengeri. Four underpasses will be constructed at Ambalappadi, Mokavoor, Koodathumbara and Vayalkkara for the cross-roads.
