518 km Bengaluru To Vijayawada Expressway Project: Dilip Buildcon Wins Two Packages For Greenfield Sections In Andhra

Dilip Buildcon, one of India's leading infrastructure firms, is set to be awarded two packages in the greenfield section of the 518 km long, six-lane, access-controlled Bengaluru To Vijayawada Expressway in Andhra.

In December 2022, the National Highway Authority Of India (NHAI) invited bids for four packages of the expressway project under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) model. The model allows the NHAI to pay 40 per cent of the total expenditure, to be released in ten equal installments, while the remaining 60 per cent has to be arranged by the contractor.

Dilip Buildcon emerged as the lowest bidder for two packages - a 24.3 km greenfield stretch between Kodur and Vanavolu quoting Rs 599.50 crore and another 24 km greenfield stretch between Odulapalle and Nallacheruvupalli quoting Rs 774.10 crore.

Raj Path Infracon has reportedely emerged as the lowest bidder for the two other packages totalling 48 km that will connect Vanavolu-Vankarakunta-Odulapalle.

Bengaluru-Vijayawada Expressway

The proposed expressway, envisaged as a combination of greenfield alignment and brownfield upgrades, is divided into three major sections:

• Brownfield Upgrade: NH-44 from Bengaluru (Karnataka) to Kodikonda (Karnataka-Andhra border), 73 km

The expressway is set to significantly reduce travel time between Vijayawada and Bengaluru. While the present route covers a distance of 650 km and takes approximately 12 hours to travel between Vijayawada and Bengaluru, the proposed BKV (Bangalore-Kadapa-Vijayawada) Expressway will reduce the time taken to travel between the two cities to around six hours.

The project is being constructed under the Modi government's flagship Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) Phase-2 program, and will provide seamless connection from Bengaluru to Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema area.

Industrial hubs in Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool, Kadapa and Anantapur — all within a 700-km range — can access Bengaluru Airport via the access-controlled multi-lane highway quickly.

A further benefit of the new project is that it connects Bengaluru with Rayalaseema region of AP, which is far from major airports like Vijayawada or Hyderabad.

 The expressway is expected to be opened for public use by 2025 - 2026.

While the expressway was initially proposed to connect Rayalaseema region with Amaravati (the greenfield city proposed as newly-carved state's capital), the Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy government decided to drop the Anantapur-Amaravati plan and instead realigned the expressway to connect Bengaluru and Vijayawada via Pulivendula, the pocket borough of ruling Reddy family along with other parts of Rayalseema.