HCC Concessions Starts Toll Operations for Farakka Raiganj Highway in West Bengal (NH-34)

HCC Concessions Ltd. commenced commercial operations of its Rs.1,720 crore Farakka Raiganj Highways Ltd. (FRHL) in Bengal. FRHL covers the busiest section of NH-34 over 100 km and passes through major towns such as Farakka, Kaliachawk, Malda and Gajol, besides being the only link over the river Ganges in the region. The project, which has a concession period of 30 years, forms an integral part of HCC’s Rs.4,300 crore development of NH-34 across three contiguous stretches over 256 km between Baharampore and Dalkhola (the first leg between Baharampore to Farakka has been operational since May 2014 with a current daily collection of approximately Rs.40 lakhs).

Toll Plaza at Km 297	NH-34

On the occasion, Arjun Dhawan, Chairman of the Board, HCC Concessions said, “HCC’s development of NH-34 is among the largest PPP highway undertakings in the country. NH-34 is the backbone of the transport system in Bengal, which is the fourth most populous state in India and home to 90 million citizens. The completion of this mega project will have a multiplier effect on GDP growth as industrial investment and consumption is spurred due to swifter access and better logistics across the State. HCC is dedicated to the Nation’s service and we are proud of our rich history in completing such projects of national importance.”

The development of FRHL is supported by a consortium of 9 lenders and the project has a concession period of 30 years. The construction of FRHL has involved over 130 structures including 9 Major Bridges, 22 Minor Bridges, 5 Underpasses and 2 Toll Plazas, with material coordination alongside NHAI and numerous State agencies. HCC Operations & Maintenance Ltd is the designated O&M contractor for the highway. Travel time for commuters in FRHL has been reduced materially, by approximately 5-6 hours during peak hours, while overall travel time between Kolkata and North Bengal will be cut by over half due to the complete four laning of NH-34.

Further details about FRHL and NH-34

NH-34 provides north-south connectivity between the capital region / ports of Kolkata & Haldia to the north eastern states of India. The west side of the highway borders Bihar and Jharkhand and the eastern side runs parallel to the Bangladesh border, where considerable import and export of goods occurs. NH-34 is the only viable route for commercial traffic over major rivers such as Bhagirathi, Ganga, Mahananda and Nagri in the region. Furthermore, it forms part of the critical route to neighbouring Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The entire border region of West Bengal and Jharkhand is very rich in mining, while crushing is done at major towns like Pakur, Rampurhat and Nalhatti. Stone and related aggregates are supplied to the industrial towns of Baharampore, Kolkata, Dhanbad, Asansol, Durgapur, Jamshedpur in the south and Farakka, Malda, Dalkhola, Bangladesh and New Jalpaiguri in the north. The land-locked seven sister States in the North East are heavily dependent on these nearby towns for industrial goods. Rivers are sand rich near Baharampore and Sainthia and this high quality sand caters to NH-34’s influence area. Bricks from Baharampore region are also transported to the Malda and Siliguri region. Apart from the aforementioned goods, other major commodities like agricultural produce, construction items, industrial goods, petroleum products, forest items, automobile and fishery products are supplied via NH-34.

About HCC Group

HCC Concessions is the Infrastructure concessions subsidiary of the HCC Group. The Company’s focus on sustainable and responsible development through Public Private Partnership results from expertise in concept innovation, risk analytics, construction management and operations. HCC Concessions’ current portfolio of over Rs.4,900 cr consists of four NHAI concessions. HCC Operations and Maintenance Ltd is the sister concern of HCC Concessions Ltd. and focuses on delivering high quality O&M services, primarily on National Highways.

HCC is a business group of global scale developing and building responsible infrastructure through next practices. With an engineering heritage of nearly 100 years, HCC has executed a majority of India's landmark infrastructure projects, having constructed 26% of India's Hydel Power generation and over 65% of India's Nuclear Power generation capacities, over 3,600 lane km of Expressways and Highways, more than 300 km of complex Tunneling and over 350 Bridges. Today, HCC Ltd. serves the infrastructure sectors of Transportation, Power and Water. The HCC Group, with a group turnover of Rs 8,768 crore, comprises of HCC Ltd., HCC Infrastructure Co. Ltd., Lavasa Corporation Ltd and Steiner AG in Switzerland.