Pandoh Takoli Four Laning Tender: NH-21 Balance Works, Himachal Pradesh

NHAI has re-tendered the unfinished four-laning between the end of the Pandoh bypass and Takoli on NH-21 in Himachal Pradesh at ₹292.99 crore, with bids closing on 16 September 2026.

A balance-works package, not a fresh alignment

This is a risk and cost tender. The original concessionaire, SP Pandoh Takoli Kullu Highway Pvt Ltd, did not finish the job, and NHAI is now getting the remaining work done at that firm’s risk and cost. For a bidder that changes the shape of the exercise: you are walking onto a part-built hill highway and completing it, not starting from a clean chainage.

The stretch runs from Km 221.305 to Km 242.000, roughly 20.7 km of the Mandi to Kullu corridor where NH-21 climbs along the Beas. NHAI’s Regional Office at Shimla is running it, and it has been floated under international competitive bidding.

Anyone pricing this should walk the alignment before quoting. On a balance-works package the value sits in what was left undone, and the honest read of quantities comes from the site rather than the summary.

Who this suits

At ₹292.99 crore with a ₹5,85,97,726 earnest money deposit, this is a job for contractors who have done hill highway work before. The EMD is exactly two per cent of the estimate. The tender document costs ₹50,000, the contract is item rate, and bid validity is 120 days over two covers.

Hill four-laning carries risks that plains work does not: slope stability, restricted working windows through monsoon and winter, limited space to stack material, and haulage distances that eat into productivity. Firms without Himalayan experience routinely underprice the rock and retaining-wall component here.

Equipment the Beas valley stretch demands

Hill four-laning is machine-heavy in a specific way. You need excavators that can work on benches and steep cuts, often with rock breakers rather than buckets, and enough of them to keep cut and fill moving in short weather windows. Retaining walls, breast walls and toe walls run through a package like this, which means concrete supply on difficult approaches and cranes that can set up on narrow shelves.

Add compactors sized for confined layers, a motor grader for formation, and tipper capacity built around long, slow hauls. Drilling rigs and crushers usually come in behind the first cut. Owners weighing a purchase against a hill contract can read our equipment finance guide first.

Key facts

How to apply

1. Open the official portal: Central Public Procurement Portal.
2. Search by tender ID 2026_NHAI_279193_1 (reference no. 11011/95/Tenders/26-27/07) 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, check eligibility against the hill-works experience criteria, and arrange the ₹5,85,97,726 EMD and ₹50,000 fee.
5. Submit your bid online before 16 September 2026.

More on DesiMachines

Also live in the same state: the Gue to Pong road improvement tender. If you bid highway upgradation packages of this size, compare it against the Jhansi to Orai six-laning packages on NH-27.

Browse more live tenders in Himachal Pradesh or all live tenders on DesiMachines.

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.