BENGALURU: The National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI ) has kicked off the tender process for the six-laning of the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway , raising hopes among the regular travellers between the two cities.The new expressway is expected to cut the travel time between the two to 90 minutes and that should cheer the IT industry among others. Mysuru has not been able to attract investments in the IT sector in spite of Infosys landing there a decade ago and setting up the world's largest corporate training facility and development centres.Lack of wide roads between the two cities and train infrastructure were cited as the reason for Mysuru not taking off in IT. The new line of infrastructure may lift Mysuru's profile among the investors.The NHAI is taking up the six-laning under the PPP mode and awarding the project on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. It has set January 5 as the last date for the submission of request for qualification bids from interested developers. The NHAI will invite finance bids (request for proposal) after shortlisting the developers eligible to bid.The expressway will have 10 lanes including two-lane service roads on either side and three-lane main carriageway in each direction.With a view to quickly implement the project, the NHAI has divided the 117-km project into two packages: One from Bengaluru to Nidaghatta, the other from Nidaghatta to Mysuru. The NHAI has estimated the construction cost at Rs 4,495 crore and requirement of land at 1,232 acres across seven taluks.Toyota Kirloskar vice chairman Shekar Viswanathan hailed the NHAI initiative and said the market for general vehicles is expanding and wider roads are needed to accommodate higher traffic volumes and ensure safety.“I am very upbeat. The expressway will lead to fresh investments in Mysuru and boost the economy . The Bidadi Industries Association is prepared to extend whatever support NHAI needs for the speedy execution of the project,“ he said.The NHAI, however, has not targeted to award the project by March 31 but senior officials are hopeful that the project is progressing well and likely to be awarded this financial year itself. The actual construction would start in the later part of 2017.The NHAI's decision to split the project means both contractors will start the work simultaneously and complete the work in 24 months. The new expressway will be open for use either late 2019 or calendar 2020.The Road Transport Ministry , too, has assigned top priority to the project in view of the rising vehicular traffic between the two cities in Karnataka. At the state government too, the project has acquired importance as both chief minister Siddaramaiah and public works minister HC Mahadevappa hail from Mysuru district.The expressway will cover a distance of 117 km from the Panchamukhi temple after NICE road in Bengaluru to the Columbia Asia Hospital junction in Mysuru.