10 bidders for Kharagpur – Vizag Expressway DPR Consultancy Contract

10 companies have submitted bids to prepare two detailed project reports (DPRs) for the construction of Kharagpur – Cuttack – Visakhapatnam (Vizag) expressway after India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) opened technical bids on Tuesday .

This approximately 783 km long, 4-6 lane greenfield controlled access highway will have somewhat parallel alignment to the national highway NH-16 across the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

MoRTH had floated a tender to appoint the consultant for this expressway in June 2024 with a deadline of 1.5 years through 2 packages:

• Package 1: Kharagpur – Chandikhol – Cuttack – Khorda – Tangi (390 km)
• Package 2: Tangi – Brahampur – Visakhapatnam (393 km)

MoRTH received a total of 18 offers: 10 for Package 1 and 8 for Package 2.

Bidders

• Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers and Consultants Pvt Ltd. – Package 1 only
• AICONS Engineering Pvt. Ltd.
• Chaitanya Projects Consultancy Private Ltd. – Package 1 only
• Consulting Engineers Group Ltd.
• Egis India Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd.
• LEA Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd.
• Lion Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
• LN Malviya Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd.
• SA Infrastructure Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
• Thematic Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.

MorTH’s Brief scope – Package 1: Consultancy services for preparation of detailed project report for construction of 4/6 lane high speed corridor/expressway between Kharagpur – Chandikhol – Cuttack – Khorda – Tangi section of Kharagpur – Cuttack – Visakhapatnam corridor

MorTH’s Brief scope – Package 2: Consultancy services for preparation of detailed project report for construction of 4/6 lane high speed corridor/expressway between Tangi – Brahampur – Visakhapatnam section of Kharagpur – Cuttack – Visakhapatnam corridor

The bids have now been sent for technical bid evaluation, which may take a couple of months to complete. Once this is done, financial bids from technically qualified bidders will be opened to reveal who is the lowest bidder and most likely consultant for each package.

If contracts are awarded in the first half of 2025, then we can expect the DPR to be finalized by the end of 2026. The DPRs will then review motions for approval, land acquisition and other authorizations – so right now I see the construction work will begin no earlier than 2028.

Once operational, the Kharagpur – Vizag expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to around 8 hours from the current 14 hours travel time. In August I created a basic information page where I will post updates. Check it out here: Kharagpur – Vizag Expressway – Information and Status

This expressway (packages 1 and 2) is part of a series of 5 new expressways (or “high-speed corridors” as MoRTH now calls them) proposed for construction in India. Here’s a summary of everything: Click on the package number to see the list of bidders (to be updated as I post):