Mega Infrastructure Push: Guwahati Ring Road Agreement Signed

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has entered into a concession agreement with Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon for the development of the 121 km Guwahati Ring Road project. The project will be executed on a build-operate-toll (BOT) basis with no grant assistance, at a total cost of Rs 5,729 crore, and will be completed within a 30-year concession period. The construction phase is expected to take four years. The Government of Assam will support the project by covering 50 percent of the land acquisition costs, exempting royalty on aggregates, and covering the state’s portion of GST, contributing a total of Rs 1,270 crore. This brings the overall project cost to Rs 7,000 crore.

The project scope includes the construction of a 56 km, four-lane access-controlled Northern Guwahati Bypass, widening an 8 km stretch of NH-27 bypass from four to six lanes, upgrading a 58 km segment of NH-27, and building a 3 km bridge over the Brahmaputra River.

Once completed, the Guwahati Ring Road will enhance connectivity along the East-West Corridor of NH-27, facilitating smoother traffic movement between West Bengal, Bihar, Silchar, Nagaland, and Tripura while alleviating congestion in Guwahati city. It will also improve access to regional towns such as Siliguri, Shillong, Jorhat, Tezpur, and Barpeta.

This project marks the first under the newly modified Model Concession Agreement (MCA) for BOT (Toll) projects, reflecting a strong push for public-private partnerships (PPP). Aligned with the Indian government’s ‘Vision 2047’, this initiative aims to create a world-class national highway network, enhancing connectivity and driving economic growth through effective PPP models.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.