Gadkari gives nod to development of Rs 1,293 cr highway project in Andhra

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday approved the development of a 32-kilometre highway from Chandrasekharapuram to Polavaram in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 1,292.65 crore under the Bharatmala project.

The six-lane greenfield highway project on the Bengaluru-Vijayawada economic corridor will be developed on hybrid annuity model (HAM), according to an official statement.

Under the hybrid annuity model, 40 per cent of the project cost is provided by the government during the construction period and the balance 60 per cent as annuity payments over the operations period along with interest thereon to the concessionaire.

"Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari approved Rs 1,292.65 crore under Bharatmala Pariyojana for the development of 32.00 Km long 6-lane access controlled greenfield highway from Chandrasekharapuram to Polavaram on (NH-544G) BengaluruVijayawada Economic Corridor in hybrid annuity mode in Andhra Pradesh," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the ministry said that Gadkari has also approved a national highway project worth Rs 410.83 crore on engineering, procurement and construction mode in West Bengal.

The approval was given for the construction of a four-lane Raniganj Bypass with a length of 5.261 km on NH-14 in Paschim Bardhaman district of the eastern state.

The minister tweeted that NH-14 starts from its junction with NH-12 (Old NH 34) near Morgram connecting Rampur Hat, Siuri, Raniganj, Bankura, Garhbeta, and Salbani and terminating at its junction with NH-16 (Old NH 2) near Kharagpur in the West Bengal.

The entire stretch is two-lane with a paved shoulder configuration. This corridor is acting as one of the prime corridors for the traffic plying from south Indian states and Odisha towards north Bengal and northeastern states, he added.

It connects many important industrial, religious and agricultural areas including Kharagpur and Midnapore.