Hyderabad-Vijayawada Highway Set for Major Expansion

The expansion of National Highway 65, connecting Hyderabad and Vijayawada, has received a major boost. The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) has approved a proposal to widen the 285-kilometre stretch from Hyderabad through Vijayawada to Machilipatnam into a six lane highway at an estimated cost of Rs 12,073.99 crore. The project can move towards construction once it receives approval from the Union Cabinet.

The project has been divided into three packages. The first package will cover 181 kilometres from the Andol Maisamma Temple, beyond Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road, to Gollapudi in Vijayawada. The second package will cover 45 kilometres between Hyderabad and Nandigama, while the third will cover 59.69 kilometres from Vijayawada to Machilipatnam.

The Hyderabad-Vijayawada section will be developed under the Build Operate Toll (BOT) model, while the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam section will follow the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). The estimated cost is Rs 7,321.97 crore for Package 1, Rs 2,965.11 crore for Package 2 and Rs 1,786.91 crore for Package 3. Including land acquisition, construction and GST, the average expenditure is expected to be around Rs 38 crore per kilometre.

The expansion will pass through Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Nalgonda and Suryapet districts in Telangana and NTR and Krishna districts in Andhra Pradesh. Officials estimate that most of the land required for the project is already available, reducing the additional land acquisition requirement.

After the expansion, the entire Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Machilipatnam route will be developed as a high-speed corridor. The six lane highway will have crash barriers on both sides, along with two-lane service roads. Entry and exit points are proposed at intervals of around 15 to 18 kilometres.

A distance based toll collection system is also proposed for the corridor. Similar to the Outer Ring Road system, vehicles will be scanned when they enter the highway, and the toll will be calculated based on the distance travelled before exiting. With PPPAC approval now in place, the proposal will move to the Union Cabinet for final approval.