IJM wins India road deal worth RM500m

IJM Corporation Bhd, through its special purpose vehicle Vijayawada Tollway Pvt Ltd, has embarked on a major highway project worth nearly RM500 million in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Vijayawada Tollway and the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) yesterday signed a concession agreement to build a six-lane 82.5km stretch along the Chilkaluripet-Vijayawada Section of the NH-5 in Andhra Pradesh.

The concession is for 15 years, including construction period of two-and-half years, and work is expected to begin this December.

"We have been given two-and-half years to finish the project and we are confident of completing the project within the timeframe. IJM has successfully completed almost 1,000km of road project in India," said IJM country director (India) Ng Chin Meng.

The project, under NHAI phase five, was awarded on a design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) basis, the first of its kind to be awarded by NHAI.

The project has adequate provision for bridges, flyovers, vehicular under-passess, pedestrians under-passes and automatic traffic counter.

There will be 152.5km long service road on both sides throughout the project.

The project is part of the Indian government's ambitious plans to upgrade its existing national highways to transport people and goods efficiently across the mammoth country.

IJM and India's Infrastructure Development Finance Company are the other consortium partners in the project. - Bernama