The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the construction of 8 National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects with a total length of 936 kilometers. The government said that these 8 highway projects will cost a total of Rs 50,655 crore.
The government said that it will ensure that the need for land acquisition is minimal. Union Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in a press conference that as far as possible the projects will be linked to brownfields. The government’s objective with these projects is to improve logistics efficiency and reduce congestion. Besides, connectivity has to be increased across the country.
These projects got approval
With these projects, the travel time between Agra and Gwalior will be reduced by 50 percent. Kharagpur-Moregram corridor will play a big role in boosting the economy of West Bengal and North-East. The highway network around Kanpur will be freed from congestion through Kanpur Ring Road.
The development of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh will get a boost through the completion of Raipur Ranchi Corridor. A new corridor will be developed between Tharad and Ahmedabad to complete the high speed road network in Gujarat for port connectivity and lower logistics costs.
Guwahati Ring Road will be developed to facilitate seamless access to the north-east. The Ring Road will also provide seamless connectivity to national and international tourists coming from Lucknow International Airport, Ayodhya Airport and major railway stations of the city. The 8-lane elevated flyover corridor section between Pune and Nashik will play a big role in improving logistics efficiency.
Average annual construction of highways increased 2.4 times
Along with this, the average annual construction of national highways has also increased by about 2.4 times from about 4,000 km in 2004-14 to about 9,600 km in 2014-24. The total capital investment in National Highways, including private investment, has increased 6 times from Rs 50,000 crore in 2013-14 to about Rs 3.1 lakh crore in 2023-24.