The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on August 2 approved 8 national high-speed road corridor projects, with a total length of 936 km across the country, for Rs 50,655 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced during a press briefing.
The new projects have been approved by keeping current and future demands in mind, Vaishnaw said.
Significantly, the implementation of these 8 projects will generate an estimated 4.42 crore mandays of direct and indirect employment, the minister added.
Among the key projects, a 68-km four-lane Ayodhya Ring Road will be built at a cost of Rs 3,935 crore, according to a statement issued by government. The project will help reduce congestion on National Highways passing through the city and nearby areas, enabling fast movement of pilgrims visiting the Rama Mandir.
In West Bengal, a 231-km long four-lane high-speed corridor will be built between Kharagpur – Moregram at a total cost of Rs 10,247 crore. The highway will help in reducing the traffic burden on the existing 2-lane National Highway and increase capacity by about 5 times between Kharagpur and Moregram.
It is also expected to improve connectivity between West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and North-East, according to the government statement.
“Realizing the importance of infrastructure in overall economic growth of the country, Government of India has been investing heavily in building world-class road infrastructure in the country over the last ten years,” Centre said.
Here are the other approved road projects:
-Six-lane 88-km long Agra-Gwalior national high-speed corridor will be built at a cost of Rs 4,613 crore. The corridor will enhance connectivity to key tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh (e.g., Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, etc) and Madhya Pradesh (e.g., Gwalior Fort, etc).
-Six-lane Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor: The 214-km long project will be built at a cost of Rs 10,534 crore.
The Tharad – Ahmedabad corridor will provide connectivity between two key national corridors in Gujarat- Amritsar – Jamnagar Corridor and Delhi – Mumbai Expressway, providing seamless connectivity for freight vehicles to reach major ports in Maharashtra (JNPT, Mumbai and newly-sanctioned Vadhavan port).
-137-km long four-lane section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi corridor will be developed at a cost of Rs 4,473 crore. It will enhance connectivity between mining areas in Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh, Korba and Dhanbad and industrial and manufacturing zones located in Raipur, Durg, Korba, Bilaspur, Bokaro, and Dhanbad.
-Six-lane 47-km long Kanpur Ring Road will be built at total cost Rs 3,298 crore.
-121-km long four-lane Northern Guwahati bypass and widening of existing Guwahati Bypass to developed at a cost of Rs 5,729 crore. A major bridge over river Brahmaputra will also be constructed as a part of the project, improving connectivity in the region.
-30-km long eight-lane elevated Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune to be developed at a total capital cost of Rs 7,827 crore.