Land acquisition for the 161.5-km northern section of the Hyderabad Regional Ring Road has been completed, Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said on Friday, clearing the way for a fresh tender process for the proposed six-lane highway.
The northern section is part of the Rs 12,073-crore Hyderabad–Vijayawada highway project. The minister said fresh tenders would be invited soon and that the detailed project report was nearing completion. The state is awaiting final clearance from the Centre for the project.
The northern section will connect Sangareddy, Narsapur, Toopran, Gajwel, Jagdevpur, Bhongir and Choutuppal. Two earlier rounds of tendering had been cancelled because land acquisition was incomplete, according to the minister. The completion of the acquisition process removes the specific obstacle that had affected those earlier bids.
Venkat Reddy said he had asked Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to expedite financial clearances and Union Cabinet approval for the northern section. He also sought equal priority for the southern stretch of the Regional Ring Road, which the state considers important for Bharat Future City, industrial parks and planned radial roads.
The minister separately said the state had secured approval for expanding National Highway-65 along the Hyderabad–Vijayawada–Machilipatnam corridor into a six-lane highway with two additional service lanes. That proposal has cleared the technical committee stage and is awaiting Union Cabinet approval.
The state government aims to complete the tendering process for the northern section within two months and begin work after the remaining clearances are obtained. The sequence means construction activity remains dependent on central financial and administrative approvals, even though the land acquisition stage has been completed.
Venkat Reddy also urged the Centre to expedite clearances for a proposed 52-km elevated corridor between Mannanur and Srisailam along NH-765 through the Nallamala forest. The DPR for that project has been prepared at an estimated cost of Rs 7,600 crore. The proposed corridor is intended to improve access for pilgrims travelling to Srisailam while limiting ecological damage to the tiger reserve, the minister said.
