The long-awaited concreting of the Panvel to Indapur stretch of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway No. 66 (formerly NH 17) is set to be completed soon. This segment, spanning 84.6 kilometers from Panvel to Indapur, falls under the jurisdiction of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The initial contract, awarded to M/s Supreme Panvel Indapur Tollways Pvt. Ltd., was terminated under Clause 37 on November 17, 2021, due to the contractor’s failure to complete the work within the stipulated time. To expedite the project and address challenges posed by heavy rainfall in the Konkan and Raigad districts, NHAI has divided the concreting work into two phases, a senior NHAI official informed in a statement.

Package 1 of the project includes Panvel to Kasu (42.3 km). The contract for this segment was awarded to M/s J.M. Mhatre Infra Pvt. Ltd. with a Letter of Award (LOA) issued on January 31, 2023. The appointed date for the project was declared as March 29, 2023, and the total cost is estimated at Rs 151.26 crore. The main road concreting is complete, except for one vehicular underpass (VUP). Service road concreting is also done, and the remaining minor works will be finished soon.

Similarly, the package 2 of the project includes Kasu to Indapur (42.3 to 84.6 km) which is being executed by M/s Kalyan Toll Infra Ltd with an appointed date of November 18, 2022, and a project cost of Rs 332 crore. So far, 30 km of the 42.3 km stretch has been concreted. The contractor is maintaining the road in traffic-worthy condition while aiming to complete the remaining work by June 2025.

The completion of this project is expected to significantly enhance connectivity between Mumbai and Goa, improving safety and reducing travel time for commuters and transporters alike.