Angul-Budhapal road project takes off

The strengthening and widening work of the proposed Angul-Chhendipada-Sarapal-Budhapal road in the coal bearing areas of Angul has taken off with the first patch of road measuring 8 kms (from 15 km to 23 km), out of the total of 51 kms, expected to be completed by December 2010.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 153.27 crore, which includes Rs 137.75 crore for the construction of 51.05 km of road and construction of a 4.5 Km bye-pass at Angul at a cost of Rs 15.51 crore. Since a number of mega steel, power and mining projects are coming up on both sides of the road, the project assumes importance.

The project is entirely financed by the contribution from the user industry. The work on the remaining portion of the road will start after the receipt of the balance contributions from the user industries, sources said. The progress of the project was reviewed today in a high level meeting chaired by Satyabrata Sahoo, secretary in the commerce and transport (C&T) department of the Orissa government. It was decided to levy toll to discourage plying of over loaded vehicles on the road to ensure its proper maintenance.