GHMC floats tenders for road maintenance works

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has floated tenders inviting private agencies to take up road maintenance works, including sweeping activity, as part of its efforts to ensure pothole-free blacktop roads in the city.

These works, covering 709 km of major roads and other thoroughfares, will be taken up under Comprehensive Road Maintenance (CRM). Agencies will be entrusted with maintenance of not only main carriageway but also greenery on medians.

Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao held a meeting with GHMC officials recently and directed them to ensure better maintenance and longevity of roads in the city.

Accordingly, the GHMC, which has already intensified pothole filling works across the city, has floated tenders for taking up zone-wise road works under CRM. The total estimated contract value of these works is about Rs 1,827 crore and it will be a for five years, said GHMC Chief Engineer Mohd Ziauddin.

The payments will be made in two components: capital expenditure, and operation and maintenance expenditure. If the agencies failed to follow or maintain the key performance indicators, they would



be penalised accordingly, he said.

“No other city in the country has roped in private agencies for annual maintenance of road works. GHMC is the first to make such an attempt,” said Ziauddin, adding that efforts were being made to complete all formalities and commence the works by November 15.

Among the six zones in GHMC, the Khairatabad zone contract is the highest and is estimated to be Rs 429 crore, followed by Secunderabad zone (Rs 344 crore). At present, GHMC is utilising the services of private agencies for pothole filling and re-carpeting works. Each time, these works are executed, separate tenders are floated but this was resulting in lack of proper coordination among agencies.

Identifying damaged roads, preparing estimates and floating tenders for taking up the works was consuming a lot of time. To fix these issues, GHMC now floated the tenders to handover the road maintenance to private agencies under CRM. Electricity Department, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and other departments will have to coordinate with the agencies for taking up road-cutting and digging works.