NHAI appoints three new operators for upkeep of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed three companies to oversee the upkeep of the stretch of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway that falls between

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed three companies to oversee the upkeep of the stretch of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway that falls between Rao Tularam Marg in Delhi and Kherki Daula toll plaza from November 1.

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Officials of the highways authority said that the tenure of the previous and the only operator so far, Skylark, had come to an end in 2018 but it was given extension on a temporary basis. The concessionaire of the highway, Millennium City Expressway Private Limited (MCEPL), had called for bids through an advertisement on October 14 and three new agencies were subsequently selected for this purpose. Skylark officials said that they had handed over the operations to the new operators on October 31, as directed by the NHAI.

The three new operators will now have different responsibilities, which will include maintaining the road, keeping a watch on traffic through the control room, and collecting toll at the Kherki Daula toll plaza, said officials. Vikas Mittal, senior manager, NHAI, said, “These new agencies will together oversee the maintenance of the highway,” said Mittal.

NHAI officials added that they had installed new RFID card readers at Kherki Daula toll plaza, which shall resolve the problems being faced by commuters due to slow reading of Smartags. “The new RFID card readers have been installed at the toll plaza. This will solve all the issues pertaining to the reading of Smartags. Also, commuters facing such problems can send us emails, and we shall look into the matter,” said Shashi Bhushan, project director, NHAI.

An official of Skylark, the previous highway operator, said that new RFID readers were installed between October 1 and October 10 and this has improved the card-reading efficiency from 70% to 85%. “We oversaw the installation and the reading is likely to improve now,” he said.

Around 70,000 vehicles cross the Kherki Daula toll on a daily basis. A large number of toll-paying traffic has been diverted to KMP Expressway and there is strong demand from the local residents to get this toll plaza shifted.