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The Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), the city’s apex planning body, has approved six tenders for the construction of nine flyovers and an underpass on SP Ring Road. The total cost will add up to Rs 6.60 billion. The tenders will be made public this week. The flyovers will be built on Sindhu Bhavan junction, Shilaj junction, and Tapovan junction while the underpass is being planned at Ognaj junction. The nine flyovers will be constructed from money got through an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan approved two years ago. AUDA approved these tenders even as work on six flyovers currently underway on the Ring Road have not been completed on time. Critics, including senior AUDA engineers, pointed out that tenders for multiple flyovers have been combined, casting doubts on whether the nine flyovers will be completed on schedule. “When AUDA combines construction work for multiple flyovers in one tender, it means that only big contractors can participate. Smaller construction firms will be eliminated from competitive bidding. This will put AUDA at a loss,� said a senior engineer. A single tender has been issued for the flyover planned over Bakrol, while construction for flyovers over Hathijan, Ramol and Panjrapol has been combined in one tender. Another, single tender has been floated for construction of flyovers over Dastan and Nikol junctions. A fourth tender has been prepared for construction of flyovers over Shilaj and Sindhu Bhavan junctions, a fifth tender has been issued for Oganj underpass, while a sixth tender has been prepared for the flyover at Tapovan circle. A pre-bid meeting will be held on September 30. Auda has decided on October 20 as the last date for filing tenders. See also: Gadkari launches highway projects worth Rs 11.28 bn in MPTwo multi-modal hubs to ease Chennai’s transport woes