Dimapur bypass to be completed by March 2024, say officials

DIMAPUR — A team comprising Chümoukedima district administration, NHIDCL officials, and others undertook a joint inspection of the Dimapur bypass (Nagaland portion) and the Dimapur-Kohima 4-lane National Highway (packages I and II) on Wednesday.

The construction of 4/6 Laning from Km 132.375 to Km 153.058 (total new alignment length of 20.683 Km) of Daboka Dimapur Section (Dimapur bypass) of NH-36 and 39 in Nagaland is likely to be completed by March 2024, said the officials.

The inspecting team refused to provide the detailed status of the project on camera, but said they are trying to complete it by March next year.

As per the update by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) on its website, the firm has taken up the project under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis and it was scheduled to be completed by October 31. This means that the Centre-owned company has to meet the completion deadline.

It was noticed during the on-site inspection that several infrastructure along the bypass were in bad shape. The bus stops were not in operational condition with some seats vandalised, and so too washroom.

When asked if the bus stops and the washroom would be repaired, Ajay Batra, General Manager (Projects) of PMU-Dimapur, NHIDCL, said that there was no need to worry.

“They (facilities) will be completed and usable,” he said, adding that there is provision in place for bus stops along the National Highway-29.

On the absence of street lights along the bypass, Batra assured that lights would be installed.

Regarding the ‘4-laning of balance work of Dimapur-Kohima road from Design Km 152.490 to Km 166.700 (existing Km 156.000 to Km 172.900),’ a 14.21 km project under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East (SARDP-NE) (Package – III), the official said that a contractor has been appointed, and the work would start.

The contractor has been on-site for 30-40 days, surveying the work before the actual construction commences, he maintained.

As per the NHIDCL update, the Dimapur bypass is a 20.68 km project with a sanctioned cost of INR 819.38 crore and awarded cost of INR 391.86 crore.

The date of award, as per the report, was March 28, 2017 and the appointed date was September 5, 2017.

The cumulative physical progress is 99.32%, and cumulative financial progress is 98.55%, according to the update.

The original scheduled completion date, as mentioned in the project status, was September 4, 2020, before it was updated to October 31, 2023.

The inspection team included Deputy Commissioner of Chümoukedima Abhinav Shivam and officials from the DC office, Ajay Batra along, Authority’s Engineer, and General Manager of the EPC Contractor.

Also read: Construction of 4/6 laning Dimapur Bypass as per schedule — NHIDCL