CCEA approves highway projects worth ₹24,249.6 crore in four states

Odisha coastal highway set to take off after a decade-long wait

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved national highway (NH) projects worth around ₹24,249.6 crore in Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar on Wednesday.

 

The much-awaited Odisha coastal highway project is finally set to take off as the Cabinet approved the Rameshwar-Paradip section at an estimated cost of ₹8,300.79 crore. 

The 160.18 km section will be constructed on a hybrid annuity model (HAM) in two packages. It would ensure a design speed of 100 km per hour and improved travel efficiency across four districts.

 

Announced in 2015, the construction of the 346-km greenfield highway from Rameswar in Odisha to Digha in West Bengal has been delayed by more than 10 years.

 

 

Initially planned as a four-lane highway, the section from Konark to Paradip was reduced to two lanes on the grounds of current and expected traffic volume, prompting the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to revise the detailed project report.

 

The approved Rameshwar-Paradip section passes through Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts. It will act as a parallel carriageway to the existing six-lane NH-16 that passes through major towns of Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.

 

The existing NH-316 also connects Bhubaneswar–Puri and further extends towards Satapada and Konark.

 

Odisha coastal highway map

Officials said the coastal highway project in line with PM GatiShakti principles will connect nine economic nodes and five logistic nodes, including Puri railway station, Puri airport, Astarang port, Paradip port and the proposed multi-modal logistics park in Jagatsinghpur district. This will positively impact the country's logistic performance index (LPI).

 

According to the traffic assessment, the estimated volume for package-I is 10,437 passenger car units (PCUs), whereas for package-II, the estimated volume is 7,249 PCUs during 2027-28. The projected traffic on the corridor is 14,377 PCUs by 2037-38 and 20,833 PCUs by 2047-48.

 

The package-I will be taken up at a cost of ₹5,304.8 crore and the package-II at ₹2,995.99 crore. Both packages include land acquisition and other pre-construction costs of ₹1,419.75 crore.

 

Upon completion, travel time is expected to reduce by about 2.5 hours between Rameshawar and Paradip, while providing safe, fast and uninterrupted connectivity for both passenger and freight traffic. The project will also result in substantial reductions in fuel consumption, carbon emissions and vehicle operating costs.

 

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for approving the long-pending coastal highway, stating it will accelerate the transformation of Odisha’s coastal economy, enhance regional connectivity and improve the quality of life for millions of people.

 

"A new chapter in Odisha’s infrastructure development begins with the approval of the ₹8,300 crore coastal highway. This landmark project will strengthen connectivity and create new opportunities for tourism, trade, logistics and economic growth," Majhi said.

 

The CCEA approved widening of the existing Armoor-Jagtial-Mancherial section of NH-63 on HAM and the Jagtial-Karimnagar section of NH-563 in Telangana to a four-lane highway under a build-operate-transfer (BOT-toll) model. It would comprise three work packages with a combined length of 190.76 km and a capital cost of ₹7,597.16 crore.

 

The Armoor-Jagtial-Mancherial section passes through Nizamabad, Jagtial and Mancherial districts of Telangana, currently facing severe congestion due to several built-up areas along the highway. The projects will have a four-lane configuration with bypasses to built-up areas with open tolling.

 

It would ensure a design speed of 100 km per hour and improved travel efficiency across the districts of Nizamabad, Jagtial, Mancherial and Karimnagar.

 

In Madhya Pradesh, the CCEA gave its nod to the upgradation of the existing 125-km intermediate lane of the Hiwarkhedi-Roshni-Ashapur-Rudhy section of NH-347B to a two-lane standard.

 

It also okayed widening of the 108.64-km two-lane Deshgaon-Julwaniya section of NH-347B to a four-lane highway on HAM at a cost of ₹4,415.60 crore.

The CCEA also cleared the upgradation of the 143.5-km Khagaria-Purnea section of NH-31 and NH-231 to a four-lane standard on a BOT mode at a cost of ₹3,936.05 crore.

 

It will address severe geometric deficiencies, sharp curves and congestion in built-up areas across Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnea districts.