The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : A.P. Road Development Corporation to be formed

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Friday, Dec 14, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

A.P. Road Development Corporation to be formed

Special Correspondent

It will improve and maintain district-level roads

The new corporation will implement road projects
It will obtain funds from WB, State and private partners

HYDERABAD: A separate undertaking, named Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation, will be formed to improve and maintain the district-level roads in the State, initially covering a length of 10,000 km.

The corporation will implement road projects obtaining funds from three sources -- World Bank, State government and private partners. Modalities are being worked out to constitute its governing body.

Toll

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Roads & Buildings Minister T. Jeevan Reddy said that users would have to pay toll for using these roads, except those built with World Bank funds.

When it was pointed out that the State government had discontinued toll on the State highways, the Minister justified its re-introduction for new projects on the ground that two-wheelers, three-wheelers, local services and those plied for agriculture purpose would be exempted.

Major roads

Seven major roads with a total length of 600 km would be taken up for improvement with Rs. 1,000 crore World Bank assistance.

These roads are: Kandi-Shamshabad, Chittoor-Puttur, Kurnool-Devarakonda, Mydukur-Jammalamadugu, Jagtial-Peddapalli and Machilipatnam-Nuzvid.

A Rs. 1,250-crore ‘Long-term Performance & Maintenance’ project would be taken up, with the cost being shared by the World Bank (85 per cent) and the State (15 per cent), to cover a large stretch of 6,500 km.

It would be implemented over a period of five years.

‘Annuity basis’

A third project, costing between Rs. 4,000-5,000 crore, would be taken up through private-public partnership on ‘annuity basis’, covering 12,52 km.

Payment to the private parties under this mode would be made annually.

The Rajiv Rahadari between Hyderabad and Mancherial would be widened to four lanes under this project.

Road bridges

The Minister said plans were afoot to construct road bridges over the Vasishta near Rajahmundry, across the Krishna at Kollapur and on the Tungabhadra at Alampur.

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