The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is still awaiting a nod from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to go ahead with the Rs 1,850 crores six laning Kozhikode Bypass Project dragging on for nearly five years. Earlier, NHAI informed that the work on the 28 km corridor from Vengalam to Idimuzhikkal would start in February. The meeting between Pandey and Raghavan was a follow-up measure. All these years, the six-lane carriageway project was hanging fire. The Hyderabad company, Krishna Mohan Construction Private Limited, which secured the contract, failed to secure a bank guarantee of Rs 85.50 crore. According to the contract, the construction of the six-lane bypass should have started in August 2018 and completed in April 2020. Raghavan told the media that the company had not been able to start the project for the last three years. He said that the delay had also been attributed to the lackadaisical attitude of INKEL Limited, a Public-Private Partnership company promoted by the State government. He said that Mumbai - based Welspun Enterprises Limited was roped in to take over the project in this context. The company received applause for building the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in a record 14 against the scheduled 30 months. He also said that the Kozhikode Bypass Project would be executed through a Special Purpose Vehicle. He added that the Kozhikode project was the only six-lane project in the State. However, sources from NHAI said that the clarity on starting the project would emerge next month. An official said that the discussions in this regard were already carried out at the headquarters and that the Ministry would come up with a positive solution. Construction work of the six- laning 40.80 km Azhiyur to the Vengalam section of the National Highway 66 in Kozhikode district will start when the State government hands over the land acquired for the Rs 1,838 crore project. The project granted under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) is part of the Bharatmala Pariyojna of the Centre. The Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) already bagged the multi-crore highway project six-laning. Image Source Also read: NHAI to set up EV charging stations along national highways in India Also read: NHAI set to begin work on Rs 700 cr Airport Road in Mohal