In keeping with govt’s priority of enhancing connectivity in border areas, road transport and highways ministry has allocated around Rs 6,000 crore for 11 different packages of the strategic Frontier Highway in Arunachal Pradesh that will run close to India-Tibet-China-Myanmar border.
The work on this 1,748 km two-lane highway, which will be barely 20 km from the international border at several locations, will start by April this year.
A top road transport ministry official said three agencies — state public works department, Border Road Organisation and National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation — will undertake the construction work. “The entire project will be executed in phases. By the end of this financial year, we are confident of bidding out nearly 400 km of this mega road project in Arunachal Pradesh and also in the entire North East. This will create many jobs for locals,” said an official.
Announcing the allocation of fund for two packages of the Frontier Highway, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said, “The strategic development of this road aims to enhance connectivity to the border areas, fostering economic growth in the region. The Frontier Highway’s construction is anticipated to curb migration and facilitate reverse migration towards the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh.”
Sources said since the greenfield stretch passes through uninhabited or sparsely-populated areas of upper Arunachal Pradesh, two-lane highways will be enough to cater to the traffic demand and the requirement of defence forces for strategic movement. Gadkari has also said that the road infrastructure will connect crucial river basins and facilitate the development of numerous hydropower projects in the state.