Centre Sets 2029 Deadline for RRR North Stretch as Cost Escalates by Rs.9,000 Cr Due to Delays

Hyderabad: Center has set a three-year deadline of 2029 for completion of northern part of Hyderabad Regional Ring Road (RRR-N); The project cost has increased sharply by around ₹ 9,000 crore due to delays in implementation. In a new letter to the state government, the Centre’s public private partnership (PPP) evaluation committee under the Union finance ministry has approved ₹ 23,995.60 crore for the RRR-N project, allowing officials to float long-pending tenders, effectively ending the protracted delay in executing the project, official sources said.

The RRR project had been stalled for almost a year despite the completion of land acquisition and calls for tenders; as both the Center and the state government suggested changes in the project, leading to the auctions being put on hold. Once final approvals are received, construction is planned to begin shortly.

The revised cost estimates significantly increased project expenses. Sources added that the cost, which was initially pegged at ₹ 15,000 crore for the 161,518 km line, has now increased by around ₹ 9,000 crore.

The proposed six-lane access-controlled road will intersect national and state highways at nine points, where major interchanges of 100 to 120 acres each will be constructed. The northern part will be divided into Package 1, covering 83,518 km from Girmapur in Sangareddy district to Pragnapur in Siddipet district, and Package 2, covering 78 km from Pragnapur to Tangedpalli in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district.

Originally planned as an eight-lane highway, the RRR project was reduced to six lanes and the route width was reduced from 100 meters to 90 meters. The remaining 10 meters will be handed over to the state government.

The Center also evaluated other models such as public-private partnership, build-operate-transfer, and chose the hybrid annual income model (HAM) for implementation. Under HAM, the Center will finance 40 percent of the project cost, while the contractor will mobilize the remaining 60 percent. The National Highways Authority of India will enter into a 15-year agreement with the contractor and during this period will repay the contractor’s share along with interest in installments to the contractor responsible for the maintenance of the road.

The project includes a number of major and minor infrastructure components, including 44 major bridges, 127 minor bridges, 1,262 box culverts, four road overbridges, 44 underpasses and one vehicle overpass.

A detailed cost breakdown showed ₹ 8,106.19 crore allocated for civil construction, ₹ 5,357.59 crore for utility replacement, ₹ 1,366.65 crore towards pre-construction expenses, ₹ 683 crore for upgrading provisions and ₹ 5,349.26 crore for land acquisition.

Meanwhile, the alignment of the southern part of the RRR has not yet been completed. The state government has proposed a 208 km alignment which is currently being reviewed by NHAI and a detailed project report is expected to provide clarity on costs and implementation plan.