From Our Special Correpondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Aug 16: Close on the heels of signing the Project Development Agreement (PDA) between Chennai-based infrastructure development company MARG and state’s Infrastructure Development Department for establishing a Rs 114 crore Greenfield airport project for Bellary, another PDA for the development of 25.67 km long Bellary-Moca Road at an estimated cost of Rs 158.47 crore was signed in Bangalore on Monday August 16.
The Rs 158.47 crore project, which is being taken up by Hyderabad-based SEW Infrastructure Ltd, will be built on DFBOT annuity basis.
Anil Kumar, director, SEW Infrastructure Ltd, and B S Ingalalli, a senior official of PWD signed the agreement in the presence of tourism and infrastructure development minister G Janardhan Reddy, who presided over the event.
The foundation stone for the project will be laid at Bellary on August 20, when Lok Sabha opposition leader Sushma Swaraj, who is acknowledged as the ''mother” by the Bellary Reddy Brothers, in the presence of chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and other ministers and BJP leaders. A host of other projects will also be initiated at the function, which will be followed by a massive rally.
The road project will be completed in 24 months and the construction company will maintain the road till the year 2025. This four-lane road would provide the much-needed link to Andhra Pradesh border in the north-east direction.
V Madhu, principal secretary, state Infrastructure Development Department, was present on the occasion.
The Chennai-based infrastructure company, MARG, is taking up the construction of the Rs 114 crore medium-sized greenfield airport project in Bellary city as part of the plans to provide air-connectivity.
A sum of Rs 110 crore had been released for land acquision, of which Rs 93 crore had already been disbursed to farmers.
The airport is proposed to be completed in two years. It would be named after Srikrishna Devaraya, the emperor of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire, and is expected to give a special boost to the development of the district, especially the capital intensive steel sector.