The Union ministry of finance has cleared the much-awaited six-lane road bridge project connecting Bharalumukh in Guwahati with North Guwahati for external funding.
Officials of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said that the project outlay is estimated at Rs 1,890 crore of which BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) financing is proposed for Rs 1,512 crores.
“The screening committee of the department of economic affairs of the Union finance ministry has already cleared it in February this year. Besides the NDB funding, the state government will do the rest. Till now a fund of Rs 250 crore has been provided by the state government for preparation of DPR (Detailed Project Report) and preliminary costs like land acquisition and rehabilitation among others,” said GMDA CEO M Angamuthu.
The proposed bridge will serve as connectivity between North Guwahati and Guwahati, which will provide relief from high congestion of traffic and also help in the planning growth of the Guwahati Metropolitan Area and expansion of the city to the north bank.
The GMDA have engaged SMEC consultant group, a subsidiary of Singapore government for preparation of Feasibility study and DPR. The feasibility report is completed and the DPR work is on completion stage.
The total length of the bridge on the river is 1,600 metre measured from south to north bank. Out of this, 1240 metre will be designed as a multi-span extra-dosed bridge with individual span length of 200 metre between consecutive pylons.
“The extra-dosed bridge is considered because of superior technology which reduces high numbers of foundations in the river over the conventional bridge design, good aesthetic view and less construction time,” said a statement of the GMDA.
The project has already received clearance from Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The Environmental Impact Analysis is on progress as per the Terms of Reference (ToR) received from State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Assam. The Kamrup district authorities have already assessed the necessary land required for the project.
Angamuthu said that the project will be executed through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under Guwahati Development Department advertising for recruitment of experienced Project Management Unit (PMU) on process.
The bridge construction period will be four years for which Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode of global tender will be invited.
