A day before the Punjab and Haryana High Court is scheduled to hear the fresh petition challenging the Tribune flyover project, the Chandigarh Administration on Tuesday evening awarded the work for construction of the much-delayed six-lane flyover, rotary and underpass at Tribune Chowk on NH-05.
The Letter of Acceptance (LoA) was issued by UT Engineering Department to Chandigarh-based Singla Constructions Ltd after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) conveyed its formal approval for awarding the project to the lowest bidder.
The project has been awarded at a quoted bid price of Rs 147.98 crore, exclusive of GST, which is nearly 31.06 per cent below the estimated bid cost put to tender.
The LoA issued by the UT Chief Engineer stated that the bid submitted by Singla Constructions on November 26, 2025, for the execution of “Construction of Flyover Rotary and Underpass at Tribune Chowk on NH-05 in the UT Chandigarh” had been “determined to be the lowest evaluated bid and has been accepted”.
The company has been asked to sign the contract agreement within the prescribed period and furnish a performance security of Rs 4.43 crore along with an additional performance security of Rs 4.73 crore within 30 days of receipt of LoA.
The award came shortly after Regional Office of MoRTH at Chandigarh formally informed UT Engineering Department that the competent authority in the ministry headquarters had approved seeking additional performance security from the L-1 bidder because the quoted bid was substantially lower than the tendered cost.
The ministry also extended the sanction validity till May 31 and directed the UT Administration to issue LoA on priority basis.
The development marks a major breakthrough for one of Chandigarh’s longest-pending and most controversial infrastructure projects, which remained stalled for nearly five years due to litigation over tree felling and alleged violation of the city’s Master Plan.
The project was originally sanctioned in February 2019 at Rs 183.74 crore and work was awarded later that year, but construction was halted after the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the project following a PIL challenging tree cutting at the site.
The stay was vacated in April 2024, after which the Chandigarh Administration revived the project and floated fresh tenders following revised approval of Rs 247.07 crore from the Centre.
Even as the administration has now formally awarded the work, the project continues to face legal scrutiny. A fresh PIL pending before the high court has challenged the flyover on grounds relating to heritage concerns, Master Plan provisions and environmental impact, including the proposed felling of nearly 700 trees.
The high court is scheduled to take up the matter on Wednesday.
Despite the fresh litigation, the administration has pushed ahead with the execution process, maintaining that the project is crucial to decongesting Tribune Chowk, one of the busiest intersections in Chandigarh through which over 1.5 lakh vehicles pass every day.
The 1.65-km-long project includes a 1,442-metre six-lane flyover on Dakshin Marg, a redesigned rotary and a 519-metre underpass on Purv Marg. The project also includes service roads, slip roads, footpaths, drainage works and traffic management infrastructure.
Once work begins, the project is targeted for completion within 30 months.
Speaking to The Tribune, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the project would significantly improve traffic movement across the Tricity region.
“Tribune Chowk has remained one of the biggest traffic bottlenecks in the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula region for years. With the award of this project, we are moving towards creation of a signal-free high-speed corridor on NH-05 that will substantially improve mobility and reduce congestion for lakhs of commuters. Along with the Zirakpur bypass and the proposed Tricity ring road, this project will help transform the region’s urban transport network,” Gadkari said.
Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria termed the award of work a major milestone for Chandigarh’s infrastructure development.
“After years of delay and legal hurdles, the project has finally entered the execution stage. The administration is committed to ensuring that the work is completed within the stipulated timeframe with minimum inconvenience to the public. This project will provide long-awaited relief to commuters and strengthen Chandigarh’s road infrastructure in line with future traffic needs,” Kataria told The Tribune.
Senior UT officials said preparatory work relating to traffic diversion plans, strengthening of slip roads and coordination with the Chandigarh Traffic Police would now be taken up before commencement of construction activity.
With the formal award now issued, the Tribune flyover project — long stuck between files, litigation and policy debates — has finally moved closer to turning into reality.