Bhubaneswar: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started the ball rolling for coastal highway and capital region ring road (CRRR) in Odisha.
According to sources, the NHAI has started the tender process for the two ambitious road projects. “After award of the tenders, the process of financial closure will start. The NHAI will also initiate the process of obtaining forest and environmental clearances for these projects following which the construction will start. It will also move the state government to expedite the land acquisition process for these key infrastructure projects,” TOI quoted a senior NHAI official as saying.
For the coastal highway project, which will be developed into 4-lane road, the NHAI has floated tender under two packages. While 47-km Rameswar to Puri under one package will be constructed with an investment of Rs 1,436 crore,, 45-km Puri-Kakatpur package will be taken with Rs 1,297 crore, the sources said.
The project, which was initially proposed to connect Gopalpur in Ganjam of Odisha to Digha in West Bengal, was changed in view of environmental concerns. The road that would now start from NH-16 near Tangi in Khurda district will be developed in two stretches — Tangi-Ratanpur and Ratanpur-Digha — with an investment of over Rs 7,000 crore.
The 177-km Tangi-Ratanpur stretch will pass through Puri, Konark, Astarang, Naugaon, Paradip port and end at Ratanpur, providing connectivity to about 100 villages in Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts.
For the six-lane CRRR, the NHAI has floated tender for the road from Gobindpur near Kuspangi on NH-42 to Tangi near Manguli on NH-16.
