Cabinet clears ₹1,853 crore Tamil Nadu highway project under HAM

The four-lane upgrade of NH-87 between Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram aims to ease traffic congestion, boost tourism and trade, and create nearly 1.84 million employment days

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a national highway project in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 1,853 crore in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw announced.

 

The 46.6-kilometre four-lane project between Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram will reduce travel woes between Madurai, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram, Mandapam, Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi – the travel is dependent on the existing two-lane National Highway 87 (NH-87) and associated state highways, which experience significant congestion due to high traffic volumes, especially in densely populated stretches and key towns along the corridor.

 

“To address these challenges, the project will upgrade approximately 46.7 km of NH-87 from Paramakudi to Ramanathapuram to a four-lane configuration. This will decongest the existing corridor, improve safety, and cater to the mobility needs of rapidly growing towns such as Paramakudi, Sathirakudi, Achundanvayal and Ramanathapuram,” the Cabinet said in a statement. 

   

According to the Cabinet, the Paramakudi–Ramanathapuram section will play a pivotal role in regional economic growth by strengthening connectivity between major religious and economic centres.

 

This will boost tourism to Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi, and open new avenues for trade and industrial development. “The project will also generate approximately 840,000 person-days of direct and 1 million person-days of indirect employment, and will open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in surrounding regions,” it said.

 

The corridor has an average daily traffic of 12,700 passenger car units.

 

 

The civil cost of the project is Rs 997 crore and the land acquisition cost is Rs 340 crore.