New Delhi: With an aim to further strengthen the road transport network in Odisha, four new National Highway (NH) projects are very likely to be executed soon.
Both Centre and State Government have mutually agreed to execute four new NH projects in Odisha during a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari here today in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi,
Works Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, Revenue and Disaster Management ACS Satyabrata Sahu, Works Principal Secretary Vir Vikram Yadav have also attended the meeting
All the four projects worth Rs.15 lakh crore were agreed upon and it was decided to prepare DPR for these projects
During the meeting, it was agreed by both State and Centre to execute a new 6 lane NH project from Bhubaneswar to Puri (60 km) along with service road with an estimated cost of Rs 1800 crore.
Another NH will be constructed from Chandikhol to Barbil with a total length of 2000 km. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 10,000 crores along with service roads.
Four-lanes of Khurda-Nyagarh NH along with service road with total length -54 km will be constructed 4-lane with service road in the built-up area with an estimated cost of Rs 1,100 crore.
The fourth NH will be constructed from Kesinga to Junagarh National Highway-26 (four lane) with a total length of 46 km with an estimated cost of Rs 1000 crores.
In this meeting, it was agreed that the ongoing projects will be accelerated in coordination with the Odisha government. Since road construction is the priority of the Odisha government, all cooperation will be provided and problems like land acquisition and availability of construction materials will be resolved soon, assured the CM.
During the review of ongoing projects, it was informed in the meeting that Rs 2500 crores have already been sanctioned for two laning of Koraput-Podomari project (246 km).
Similarly, Rs 500 crore has been disbursed this year under the Central Roads and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF). Moreover, funds can also be redeemed after utilization of the fund, officials said.
Similarly, there is a provision of Rs 250 crore under Setu Bandhan Yojana for Odisha. A DPR of Rs 3400 crore will be submitted for the improvement of national highways in Odisha, the officials said.
In today’s meeting, the Union Minister discussed with the Chief Minister about road projects worth Rs 21,650 crore.
On the request of the Chief Minister, Union Minister Shri Gadkari has agreed to further study the feasibility of several proposals including construction of Atal Expressway from Motu to Tiringi (969 km) passes through 9 districts with estimated project cost of Rs 15,000 crore.
CM Shri Majhi has also proposed for Jharsuguda-Baleswar (383 km) NH project worth Rs 7,500 crore, Nuapada—Astarang (491 km) NH—Rs 9,500 crore, Brindababahal- Gopalpur (357 km) NH—Rs 6,800 crore, and Sambalpur-Satbhaya (404 km)—Rs 5477 crore.
Further, Grand Ring Roads have been proposed: Brahmapur-Jeypore (287 km) with a cost of Rs 9000 crore, Jaipur-Rourkela (Rs 2500 crore), and Rourkela-Jaleshwar (Rs 2200 crore).