NHAI has invited bids worth Rs 863 crore to widen the 31 km Bagdogra-Galgalia stretch of NH-327 in West Bengal, part of a Rs 2,077 crore plan.

The stretch is 31.025 km long and runs through Darjeeling district in West Bengal.

It sits close to the Siliguri Corridor, the narrow strip of land often called the Chicken’s Neck that connects India’s northeast with the rest of the country.

NHAI’s bid document, dated 15 September, puts the cost of this specific widening work at Rs 863.30 crore, excluding GST.

Companies interested in the project can submit bids online until 11 am on 2 November.

Technical submissions open the following day, on 3 November. The project will be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode.

In simple terms, this means a private company will design, build and operate the highway for a fixed period before handing it back to NHAI.

This tender is not a standalone announcement. It follows a bigger approval made earlier in the month.

On 3 September, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government had cleared Rs 2,077.18 crore for the full corridor upgrade.

That larger sum covers extra work beyond the road itself, including three major bridges, one road-over-bridge, five underpasses built for elephant movement, and service roads running along both sides.

So the Rs 863 crore figure in this week’s tender appears to cover the core four-laning work, while the Rs 2,077 crore figure covers the entire project once bridges, underpasses and service roads are added in.

Once finished, the highway will link Galgalia, a town near the India-Nepal border, with Bagdogra, where it joins NH-27 close to Bagdogra Airport.

Residents in Naxalbari, Kharibari and Panitanki should also see less traffic congestion once the extra lanes open.

NHAI has reserved the right to reject any or all bids without giving a reason, so the timeline from here depends on how the tender process plays out over the next few weeks.

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