Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is likely to cancel the tenders given to six firms distributed when Samajwadi Party was in power, to develop the Purvanchal Expressway between Lucknow and Ghazipur, a report by Indian Express has said. The state government will table a proposal in the Cabinet soon, to cancel the tenders and renew the process of selecting construction companies for the project.
Speaking to the paper, State Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana said tenders will be scrapped as land required for the project was not available till now. The minister further said that when these tenders were finalised, only 33 per cent land was purchased for the project “Fresh tendering exercise will be done when required land is available. Also, the cost of the project will be reduced,” Mahana was quoted as saying by the paper. Sources have also confirmed to the paper that the board of UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has cleared the proposal.
The project, which was launched by then Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav, was proposed to connect Lucknow with Ghazipur through Amethi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Azamgarh, Mau and Ambedkar Nagar. As per the newspaper report, the cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 19,000 crore, out of which Rs 12,000 crore was allotted for construction related work and the other Rs 7,000 crore for acquiring land. The aim of the project to reduce travel time between Lucknow and Ghazipur by almost five hours.
The Samajwadi Party government had begun the bidding process for the project in November 2015, a senior official said. Till last year, Akhilesh Yadav-led government had selected six firms — NCC, PNC, Gayatri Constructions, Ashoka Buildcon, Afcons and Larsen & Toubro through tendering for the development of eight stretches of the expressway, by the end of last year.
“These companies were shortlisted for the project through tendering process. But by the time contracts could be awarded, the model code of conduct came into effect for Assembly elections. After elections, the new government has decided to cancel these tenders and hold a fresh tender exercise with revised conditions,” the official was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
