The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the development of eight National High Speed Corridor projects across the country to improve logistics efficiency, reduce congestion and enhance connectivity.
With a collective length of 936 kilometres, the eight projects will cost around Rs 50,655 crore and will generate an estimated 4.42 crore man-days of direct and indirect employment.
Last month, News18 had reported that the ministry will be focusing on access-controlled roads across India to make them at par with international standards and improve logistics speed, in turn, reducing logistics cost.
What is a high-speed corridor?
Roads that are part of a high-speed corridor are those where the aim is to allow traffic at a higher speed without any disruption. The upper speed limit on these roads is 120 kmph.
Also called access-controlled highways or roads, these are at least four-laned and can even go higher, depending on the need and route. Further, there are limited entry and exit points on these roads so that the flow of traffic remains unaffected. Also, junctions or interchanges are designed in a way that those not opting for it can continue the journey in high speed.
There are no red lights on these lanes. In addition, slow-moving vehicles like bicycles, bikes or autos are not allowed. Even pedestrians are barred on these highways.
The government adopted the corridor-based highway infrastructure development approach with an aim to ensure consistent standards, user convenience and logistics efficiency, as compared to the earlier project-based development approach that focused on addressing stretches of local congestion.
This corridor approach has led to the identification of a network of 50,000 kilometres of High-Speed Highway Corridors through a scientific transport study based on Goods and Services Tax Network and toll data to support India’s transformation into a $30+ trillion economy by 2047.
The eight new projects
Among the eight projects that got the Cabinet’s approval included one eight-lane corridor, three six-lane projects and four four-lane roads.
The new corridors will come up between Nashik Phata and Khed, Agra and Gwalior, Kharagpur and Moregram, Tharad and Ahmedabad, and Pathalgaon and Gumla. It also included Kanpur and Ayodhya ring roads and northern Guwahati Bypass and widening/improvement of existing Guwahati Bypass.
How will the project improve regional connectivity?
Nashik Phata-Khed
Starting near Pune, this 30-kilometre road will be eight-laned and elevated and will cost Rs 7,827 crore. The project will be developed on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.
“The elevated corridor will provide seamless high-speed connectivity for traffic originating from/heading to industrial centres of Chakan and Bhosari on NH-60 between Pune and Nashik. The corridor will also alleviate serious congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad,” an official statement added.
The project will include upgradation of existing road to four and six lane with two-lane service road on both sides.
Agra-Gwalior
Reducing the travel time between Agra and Gwalior by half, the 88-km high-speed corridor will be six-laned, costing more than Rs 4,600 crore. To be developed in BOT mode, the six-lane corridor will supplement the existing four-lane National Highway to increase the traffic capacity by more than two times in the Agra-Gwalior section of the north-south corridor (Srinagar-Kanyakumari).
“The corridor will enhance connectivity to key tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh (Taj Mahal and Agra Fort) and Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior Fort). It will reduce the distance between Agra and Gwalior by seven per cent and the travel time by 50 per cent, thereby bringing in a substantial reduction in logistics cost,” the statement added.
It will start near village Deori in Agra and end near village Susera in Gwalior and will cover Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, including the overlay/strengthening and other road safety and improvement works on the existing Agra-Gwalior section of NH-44.
Kharagpur-Moregram
The new road will reduce the travel time between Kharagpur and Moregram from almost 10 hours now to three to five hours. This will not just ease the journey for common man but will reduce logistics cost as well.
The 231-km, four-lane access-controlled high-speed corridor will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs 10,247 crore.
“The new corridor will supplement the existing two-lane National Highway to increase the traffic capacity by about five times between Kharagpur and Moregram. It will provide efficient connectivity for traffic between states such as West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh on one end and the North-Eastern part of the country on the other,” the statement added.
Tharad-Ahmedabad
Also developed on BOT, the 214-km six-lane high-speed corridor will be developed at a cost of Rs 10,534 crore.
The Tharad-Ahmedabad corridor will provide connectivity between two key national corridors in Gujarat — Amritsar-Jamnagar Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway — thereby providing seamless connectivity for the freight vehicles originating from industrial regions of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to the major ports in Maharashtra, including JNPT, Mumbai and newly-sanctioned Vadhavan port.
“The corridor will also provide connectivity to key tourist destinations in Rajasthan (Mehrangarh Fort and Dilwara Temple) and Gujarat (Rani ka Vav and Ambaji Temple). It will further reduce the distance between Tharad and Ahmedabad by 20 per cent and the travel time by 60 per cent, thereby improving logistics efficiency,” it added.
Ayodhya Ring Road
Developed under HAM, the 68-km four-lane access-controlled Ayodhya Ring Road will cost Rs 3,935 crore. The Ring Road will reduce congestion on National Highways passing through the city — NH 27 (East West Corridor), NH 227 A, NH 227B. NH 330, NH 330A, and NH 135A — will allow fast movement of pilgrims visiting the Ram Mandir.
“The Ring Road will also provide seamless connectivity to national and international tourists arriving from Lucknow International Airport, Ayodhya Airport and major railway stations in the city,” the statement added.
Kanpur Ring Road
With an aim to improve logistics efficiency for freight traveling between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the Kanpur Ring Road will be developed at a cost of Rs 3,298 crore.
“The 47-km six-lane access-controlled section of Kanpur Ring Road will be developed in Engineering, Procurement and Construction Mode (EPC)… This section will complete the six-lane National Highway Ring around Kanpur,” the statement added.
The Ring Road will enable segregation of long-distance traffic on the key National Highways — NH 19 (Golden Quadrilateral), NH 27 (East West Corridor), NH 34 and upcoming Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway and Ganga Expressway from the city-bound traffic.
Pathalgaon-Gumla
The 137-km, four-lane access-controlled Pathalgaon-Gumla section of Raipur-Ranchi Corridor will be developed in HAM at a total capital cost of Rs 4,473 crore to complete the whole corridor.
“It will enhance connectivity between mining areas in Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh, Korba and Dhanbad and industrial and manufacturing zones located in Raipur, Durg, Korba, Bilaspur, Bokaro, and Dhanbad,” the statement added.
It will start from end point of National Highway-130A near Turua Ama village and end at Chainage 82+150 of Palma-Gumla Road near Bharda village as part of Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor.
Northern Guwahati Bypass
The 121-km Guwahati Ring Road will be developed in BOT mode at a total capital cost of Rs 5,729 crore in three sections — four-lane access-controlled northern Guwahati Bypass (56 km); widening of the existing four-lane bypass on NH 27 to six lanes (8 km); and improvement of existing bypass on NH 27 (58 km).
“A major bridge over river Brahmaputra will also be constructed as part of the project. The Guwahati Ring Road will provide seamless connectivity to long-distance traffic plying on National Highway 27 (the East West Corridor), which is the gateway to the North-East Region of the country,” the statement said.
The Ring Road will ease congestion on major National Highways around Guwahati, connecting major cities/ towns in the region — Siliguri, Silchar, Shillong, Jorhat, Tezpur, Jogigopha, and Barpeta.
Comments
0 comment