The cabinet committee on economic affairs (chaired by the Prime Minister) on August 2, 2024 approved the development of 8 (eight) important high speed road corridor projects at a total cost of INR 50,655 crore (Indian Rupees fifty thousand six hundred and fifty-five crore). These projects are:
- 6 (six) lane Agra – Gwalior national high speed corridor: This 88 (eighty-eight) kilometre ("km") high speed corridor will be developed on a BOT mode as a fully access controlled 6 (six) lane corridor at a total capital cost of INR 4,613 crore (Indian Rupees four thousand six hundred and thirteen crore). The corridor seeks to reduce the distance between Agra and Gwalior by 7% and the travel time by 50%, thereby bringing in a substantial reduction in logistics cost.
- 4 (four) lane Kharagpur – Moregram national high speed corridor: This will be a 231 (two hundred and thirty-one) km, 4 (four) lane access controlled high speed corridor which will be developed under HAM at a total capital cost of INR 10,247 crore (Indian Rupees ten thousand two hundred and forty-seven crore). The establishment of this corridor will reduce travel time from the existing 10 (ten) hours to 3-5 (three-five) hours for freight vehicles between Kharagpur and Moregram, thereby reducing logistics cost.
- 6 (six) lane Tharad-Deesa-Mehsana-Ahmedabad national high speed corridor: This 6 (six) high speed corridor with a length of 214 (two hundred and fourteen) km will be developed in BOT mode at a total capital cost of INR 10,534 crore (Indian Rupees ten thousand five hundred and thirty-four crore). The Tharad-Ahmedabad corridor will provide connectivity between 2 (two) key national corridors in the state of Gujarat, vi, Amritsar-Jamnagar corridor and Delhi-Mumbai expressway, thereby providing connectivity for the freight vehicles originating from industrial regions of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to the major ports in Maharashtra.
- 4 (four) lane Ayodhya ring road: The 68 (sixty-eight) km 4 (four) lane access-controlled Ayodhya ring road will be developed under HAM at a total capital cost of INR 3,935 crore (Indian Rupees three thousand nine hundred and thirty-five crore). It is expected that this ring road will reduce congestion on national highways passing through the city of Ayodhya, thereby enabling fast movement of pilgrims visiting the Ram Mandir. The ring road is expected to provide seamless connectivity to national and international tourists arriving from Lucknow International Airport, Ayodhya Airport and major railway stations in Ayodhya.
- 4 (four) lane section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchinational high speed corridor: This corridor will comprise of a 137 (one hundred and thirty-seven) km stretch and will have 4 (four) lanes. The corridor will be developed under HAM at a total capital cost of INR 4,473 crore (Indian Rupees four thousand four hundred and seventy-three crore). The corridor is expected to 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.
- 6 (six) lane Kanpur ring road: This section, which will be developed at a cost of INR 3,298 crore (Indian Rupees three thousand two hundred and ninety eight crore), will complete the 6 (six) lane national highway ring road around Kanpur. This project will be developed in EPC mode and will assist in segregating long-distance traffic on national highways from the city-bound traffic, thereby reducing time for freight vehicles travelling between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
- 4 (four) lane northern Guwahati Bypass and widening/improvement of existing Guwahati bypass: This stretch will comprise of the 121 (one hundred and twenty-one) km Guwahati ring road and will be developed at cost of INR 5,729 crore (Indian Rupees five thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine crore) on BOT mode. This stretch will include construction of a major bridge over the river Brahmaputra. It is expected that this ring road will ease congestion on major national highways around Guwahati, connecting major cities/towns in the region of Siliguri, Silchar, Shillong, Jorhat, etc.
- 8 (eight) lane elevated Nashik Phata – Khed corridor near Pune: This will be a stretch of a length of 30 (thirty) km which will be developed on BOT mode at a total cost of INR 7,827 crore (Indian Rupees seven thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven crore). This stretch is expected to cater to traffic originating from/heading to industrial centres of Chakan, Bhosari etc. on NH-60 between Pune and Nashik and also alleviate serious congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Source: PIB
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