Larsen & Toubro Infrastructure Development Projects subsidiary L&T Rajkot Vadinar Tollway (L&T-RVTL) has started commercial operations on the Rs10.96bn ($220.6m) Rajkot-Jamnagar-Vadinar road project in Gujarat, India.

The project involves extending the 132km stretch of SH-25 to four lanes from the existing two lanes on build operate transfer (BOT) (toll) basis.

It also involves construction of 12 major bridges, 57 minor bridges, four road over bridges (ROB) and five underpasses.

SH-25 runs between Rajkot and Vadinar through Jamnagar and is built for the Gujarat State Road Development (GSRDC).

L&T-RVTL will also operate and maintain the road stretch for the concession period of 20 years, including the construction period of 30 months.

The corridor starts from Rajkot and passes through Dhrol, Falla, Jamnagar city, Reliance refinery and ends at Vadinar Port.

It is expected that the road will provide greater access to the industrial hubs of Vadinar and Jamnagar.

Under the deal, the concessionaire will also provide traffic measures, road furniture, retro-reflective sign boards, thermo plastic road markings and service roads wherever required.

L&T-IDPL said it has committed an investment of Rs39bn ($785m) in three highway projects for the GSRDC since 2008.

Other two projects, the Halol-Godhra-Shmlaji (SH-5) road and Ahmedabad-Viramgam-Maliya (SH-7 and SH-17) highway, are expected to start commercial operations shortly.

Once completed, Halol-Godhra-Shmlaji will serve as an alternative route between Gujarat and Delhi and will reduce the distance between Vadodara and Delhi by at least 45km.

The concession period for Ahmedabad-Viramgam-Maliya highway is 22 years, and 20 years for the Halol-Godhra-Shmlaji road.

L&T will pay a premium of Rs60bn ($1.2bn) over a period of 22 years to the state government during the concession period.

With the completion of this development, L&T-IDPL currently has eight operational projects in its roads portfolio, with eight under implementation and one in the development stage.