Mangaluru: The National Highway division of Public Works Department is all set to start the second phase of the work on Shiradi Ghat stretch from Saturday.

The 12.38 km from Kempuhole to Addahole will be concreted while the remaining 21 km of the stretch will be asphalted.

A sum of Rs 85.28 crore was sanctioned for the Shiradi Ghat work in 2015. The concrete road will be 8.5 metre wide while the asphalted road will be 7 metre wide.

The work contract has been entrusted to Ocean Construction India Pvt Ltd. The contractor has procured a latest machine worth Rs 7.5 crore from Germany when the first phase of the work was started in 2015.

For the second phase of the work, the contractor has procured machines worth Rs 10 crore from Germany.

“About 50% of the materials, including gravel and sand, have been procured for the work,” Ocean Construction India Pvt Ltd Managing Director Inayath Ali told.

The contractor has also purchased the Texture Curing Machine (TCM) 180. With the machine, the process of concrete curing is made easier and it will help in early completion of the work. The machine has been installed near Addahole plant near Shiradi.

In the first phase, 11.77 km stretch of the road from Heggadde to Kempuhole was concreted at a cost of Rs 69.90 crore. It was inaugurated on August 9, 2015 by PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa.

According to officials, “he movement of vehicles should be banned completely to maintain the quality of work.”

As Shiradi Ghat, connecting port city with capital city, is used by a large number of vehicles, there was a demand not to close the stretch fully. However, senior officials said, “If the movement of vehicles is not banned while concreting the road, then it will affect the quality due to the compression.”