Venkaiah Naidu to open Rs 1,930 cr highway projects in Andhra Pradesh

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will on Tuesday inaugurate about Rs 1,930 crore National Highway (NH) projects in Andhra Pradesh and lay the foundation stone for a stretch of National Waterways4 (NW-4) on the Krishna river.

He will also lay the foundation stone for another 250 km NH projects which will cost over Rs 2,539 crore.

Road Transport and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be present on this occasion, a shipping ministry statement said.

The Vice President will lay foundation stone for the development of Muktyala to Vijayawada stretch of Krishna River in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, it said.

As per the MoU signed with Andhra Pradesh on April 14, 2016, NW-4 in Andhra Pradesh is proposed to be developed in three phases

The Phase-I of 82 km covers Muktyala to Vijayawada (Krishna River). The second phase is from Vijayawada to Kakinada (Eluru canal & Kakinada canal) and Rajahmundry to Polavaram stretch of Godavari of 233 Km.

The third phase is Commamur Canal, Buckingham canal and balance stretches of Krishna & Godavari Rivers of 573 km.

The project will help boost economic growth of the region and facilitate the development of the capital city, Amravati.

Three cargo terminals are proposed to be built at Muktyala, Ibrahimpatnam and Harishchandrapur, while four Passenger Terminals are to be built at Durga Ghat, Bhawani Island, Vedadari, and Amravati on NW- 4 in phase 1. The DPR (detailed project report) for construction of these seven terminals has been completed.

NW-4 was declared in November, 2008 for 1078 km, which was extended to 2,890 km.

A proposal for Phase-II has been recommended by IWAI board for PIB/Cabinet (Public Investment Board). Also, a proposal for formation of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for implementation of the project is under consideration for the approval of Cabinet. The SPV is expected to be formed by next month.