Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway tender: four Punjab packages

NHAI is taking bids on four packages of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway in Punjab worth ₹4,805.17 crore together, and all four close on 17 September 2026.

Three of the four are balance works, which means an earlier contractor left the stretch part-built and NHAI has re-tendered what remains. The fourth, Package 2, is the Amritsar spur connecting the city to the main expressway. Between them they cover roughly 150 km of four-lane greenfield carriageway across Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Moga, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.

The four packages, side by side

Each package is bid separately, so a firm can take one without committing to the rest.

Earnest money sits at almost exactly one per cent of the estimate on every package, which is the normal NHAI setting and a useful check that the published values are right.

Why balance works price differently

A balance-works contract is not a fresh alignment. Land is largely in hand, embankment may be partly raised, and some structures will be standing at various stages. That cuts the earthmoving bill, but it brings its own problems: you inherit whatever the previous contractor left, including work that has weathered through a monsoon or two and may need rectification before you can build on it.

Read the drawings against a site visit before you price. The gap between the drawings and what is actually standing is where money is won or lost on this kind of job.

Package 2 is the exception. The Amritsar spur is being bid as a straight EPC contract, so it is new construction from formation up.

Who is likely to bid

At ₹669 crore to ₹1,752 crore a package these go to established highway contractors with NHAI prequalification and 120-day bid validity to carry. Bid opening is 18 September 2026 for all four.

The wider opportunity sits below that. Four packages starting in the same season across one corridor means a concentrated demand for hired plant through central Punjab, and subcontract packages for structures, drainage and service roads. Owners around Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar are the ones who should be watching the award list.

Plant this corridor will pull

Greenfield expressway work is earthwork first. Excavators cut and load, tippers haul, and motor graders and soil compactors build the embankment to level. On the balance-works stretches the earthwork share is smaller and the structures share is larger, so cranes for girder and pier work and concrete supply matter more than raw digging capacity. Pavement then brings pavers, tandem and pneumatic rollers, and a batching plant close enough to keep transit times inside spec. Service roads, drains and toll and interchange areas keep backhoe loaders busy through the whole build.

Key facts

How to apply

1. Open the official portal: Central Public Procurement Portal.
2. Search by the tender ID of the package you want, for example 2026_NHAI_269851_1 (reference no. PUNDIV-20011/2/2026/ e-307023) under National Highways Authority of India.
3. Register on the portal and keep a valid Class III digital signature certificate ready.
4. Download the NIT, tender document and BOQ. Every package here has been amended several times, so read the latest corrigendum before you price anything.
5. Submit your bid online before 17 September 2026.

More on DesiMachines

Also open in Punjab right now: the Ludhiana-Rupnagar NH-205K greenfield highway tender and a six road over bridges package on the Ludhiana and Jammu sections. If you price large highway packages, the Jhansi-Orai six-laning tender on NH-27 is a comparable multi-package job. There are more live tenders in Punjab, and all live tenders are listed by closing date.

If you supply plant to highway contractors, our excavator, motor grader and compactor pages cover the fleet these packages run on, and equipment finance sets out the loan and lease options.

FAQ

Tender details are summarised for convenience and may change. Always verify the latest dates, terms and documents on the official tendering portal before bidding. DesiMachines is not responsible for changes made by the issuing authority.