Pune Ring Road project: The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has allocated funds in its 2024-25 budget to jumpstart the inner ring road development, focusing on land acquisition and tender processes for the first two phases.

The Pune Ring Road project, announced back in 2016, is designed to ease the traffic burden in the city’s core, cutting down on congestion and pollution while driving development in the suburbs. But with tricky land acquisition and rising costs, the construction could face more delays. Recently, the Maharashtra cabinet approved an extra Rs 20,375.21 crore, pushing the total project cost to Rs 42,711.03 crore. What’s interesting is that this revision comes just three years after the initial cost estimate, and yet, construction hasn’t even started.

Revised costs push project to over Rs 42,000 Crore

The Pune Ring Road, divided into eastern and western segments, aims to ease traffic congestion and link suburban areas to the main city.

Eastern segment: Extending from Urse (Mumbai-Pune Expressway) to Solu (Alandi-Markal Road) and then to Sortapwadi (Pune-Solapur Road), the cost of this section rose from Rs 10,159.82 crore in September 2021 to Rs 19,932.98 crore after the project length was increased from 68.19 km to 72.335 km.

Western segment: Stretching from Urse to Varve Budruk (Satara Road), this part saw a jump from Rs 12,176 crore to Rs 22,778.05 crore in the same timeframe.

PMRDA funding accelerates project progress

The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has allocated funds in its 2024-25 budget to jumpstart the inner ring road development, focusing on land acquisition and tender processes for the first two phases.

This funding enables us to move forward with both land acquisition and tendering simultaneously, said Ashok Bhalkar, Chief Engineer of PMRDA. “We have started the land acquisition process and sought quotation for the development of the Solu Interchange-Vadgaon Shinde stretch and the Ahmednagar Road-Solapur Road-Satara Road stretch,” he told The Indian Express.

Here’s why costs have escalated

According to an Indian Exprss report, Anilkumar Gaikwad, Vice President and Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), explained that updated technology, design modifications, and rising material costs are behind the price hikes.

“The project estimates were based on 2017-18 rates,” Gaikwad noted. “The tenders were filed with ongoing rates, reflecting the increase in material prices,” He added that contractors would be responsible for any additional costs related to temporary roads and land acquisition for minor minerals.

In order to validate the updated project costs, the Maharashtra cabinet enlisted Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to perform a review. Their findings, submitted in July 2024, were certified by a chief engineer committee under Gaikwad.

Pune Ring Road: Four phases

The Pune Ring Road will cover 128.08 km, with MSRDC, PMC, and PMRDA responsible for different portions:

• Phase 1: Solu Interchange to Vadgaon Shinde (4.7 km)
• Phase 2: Pune-Ahmednagar Road to Solapur Road (71.89 km)
• Phase 3: Pune-Solapur Road to Pune-Satara Road (21.23 km)
• Phase 4: Pune-Satara Road to Parandwadi Interchange (44.80 km)