NH 65 Six-Lane expansion delay, authorities await Arbitrator's Report

According to a response received through a Right to Information (RTI) query, the decision on the expansion of National Highway (NH) 65, which connects Hyderabad and Vijayawada, is pending as authorities are waiting for the arbitrator's report. Currently, the Nandigama section of NH65 has four lanes.As per the details obtained from the RTI filed by I Ravi Kumar, the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and the agreements between Hyderabad and Vijayawada on NH65, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), will involve the construction of six to eight lanes from the 14th to the 40th kilometer.The estimated cost for the six-lane expansion is 5.43 billion, and the completion date is scheduled for October 24.The stretch between the 40th and 221st kilometer, known as Nandigama, is currently managed by GMR under Vijayawada Expressways. According to the agreement with GMR, this section was supposed to be expanded to six lanes between April 2022 and April 2024.However, the authorities have determined that a six-lane expansion is unnecessary and have limited the concession to six lanes only.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided not to proceed with the six-lane expansion for the aforementioned stretch. However, the concessionaire GMR HVEPL has disputed this decision and raised the matter for arbitration. The final decision on the six-lane expansion will be made after the arbitrator's report.According to the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Union government, through the NHAI under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, is working on sanctioning large-scale road projects to establish rapid road connectivity between Hyderabad and other major cities of Telangana and the capital of Andhra Pradesh.However, the implementation of these road projects seems to be progressing slower compared to the actual construction of the roads, as per the information obtained through the RTI.In the meantime, in order to address road safety concerns as a temporary measure, 46 black spots have been identified on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada road, and measures such as payment marking, signboards, and solar blinkers are being implemented.