New Delhi: The Narendra Modi cabinet on Friday approved eight National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects measuring 936 km at a cost of Rs 50,655 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed on Friday.
“Cabinet today approved 8 important National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects of length 936 km at a total cost of over R50,000 crore to improve logistics efficiency, reduce congestion and enhance connectivity across the country,” Vaishnaw said during a press briefing.
The projects in question are — six-lane Agra-Gwalior National High Speed Corridor, four-lane Kharagpur-Moregram National High Speed Corridor, six-lane Tharad-Deesa-Mehsana-Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor, four-lane Ayodhya Ring Road, five-lane section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National Highspeed Corridor, six-lane Kanpur Ring Road, four-lane Northern Guwahati Bypass and Widening/Improvement of Existing Guwahati Bypass and eight-lane elevated Nashik Phata-Khed Corridor near Pune.
“140 crore Indians gave PM Modi a historic mandate. Thanks to them, a government returned to power for a third consecutive term after 60 years… Following the formation of the government, Rs 76,000 crore will be invested for Vadhavan Port,” Vaishnaw said.
“Infrastructure development is the foundation for a country’s economic prosperity and is critical for improving the quality of life of its citizens. Every rupee spent on infrastructure development has a multiplier effect of about 2.5-3.0 times on GDP,” the government said.
According to the Centre, total capital investment in National Highways, including private investment, has increased by 6 times from Rs 50,000 crore in 2013-14 to about Rs 3.1 lakh crore in 2023-24.
“Further, Government has adopted a corridor-based highway infrastructure development approach with focus on ensuring consistent standards, user convenience and logistics efficiency, as compared to the earlier project-based development approach, focused on addressing stretches of local congestion,” the government note said.
