20.1.14

Pune Ring Road snippets

The proposed 170-km ring road project that would cover the fringe areas of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad got a push after the state government approved Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s proposal (MSRDC) for preparing a detailed project report (DPR).
MSRDC officials said the DPR would be prepared by a consultancy firm and it would take at least one year to prepare it. A cabinet sub-committee for infrastructure headed by the CM Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday approved the proposal. The approval came after nearly two years. It was in early 2012 that the MSRDC had issued global tender inviting bids for consultancy services for a feasibility study and preparation of the DPR with preliminary estimates and design.
The MSRDC had finalized a consultancy firm but the approval for the DPR was still awaited, MSRDC officials said. “A lot of time has elapsed since the firm was finalized. We would enquire if the same firm would be ready to prepare the DPR. If not, the corporation would invite fresh bids,’’ an official said.
Stressing on the importance of the proposed ring road, the MSRDC stated that the traffic in and around Pune city has been increasing at a fast pace due to industrial and other socio-economic development. Vehicular traffic from highways (Mumbai-Pune-Solapur highway and other main roads such as Pune-Nashik, Pune-Ahmednagar and Pune-Satara) passes through the city which leads to traffic problems. “If such traffic is diverted from outside the city through a road network, it will help in reducing traffic problems. For instance, traffic coming from Solapur and going towards Mumbai can be diverted from the ring road,’’ said a MSRDC official.
MSRDC officials also said that an alignment of the road proposed earlier by the public works department was being considered. However, the alignment would change with the presence of constructions, the officials said.

PROPOSED RING ROAD
Length : 170 km
It would cover fringe areas outside Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad mjunicipal corporations
Tunnels would have to be constructed in some areas
Project would be based on PPP model and Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis

The process
A Detailed Project Report would be ready in 12 months
Based on the DPR and estimates, MSRDC/state government would initiate process for land acquisition and construction of the road through private companies

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