National highways to go multi-lane around B'lore

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| Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who announced the NHAI's initiatives for Bangalore here, said that the widening of the National Highways (NH) will greatly reduce the pressure on the city. |
| The Bangalore-Nelamangala stretch of NH-4 will be converted into a six-lane expressway from the present four-lane. A four-kilometre elevated corridor will also be constructed. Similarly, the Bangalore-Devanahalli section of NH-7 will have six lanes. |
| The Bangalore-Kolar section of NH-4 is being four-laned, Singh added. |
| He said that the UPA government has speeded up the construction and development of NHs. "We now have a road programme under the National Highways Development Programme costing over Rs 2.2 lakh crore to be completed in the next 7-8 years," he stated. Earlier, the PM launched works on the Silk Board junction-Electronic City Elevated Expressway project. |
| Soma Enterprises Limited, in joint venture with Nagarjuna Constructions Company and Maytas Infrastructure Private Limited, has been awarded the construction of the 9-kilometre stretch at an estimated cost of Rs 765 crore. The consortium has a concession period of 20 years. |
| Singh also launched work on the Rs 6,395 crore Bangalore Metro Rail project. The first phase of the project is expected to be commissioned by December 2011 covering 33 kilometre. |
First Published: Jun 26 2006 | 12:00 AM IST