Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 16 National Highways projects with a total length of 1,411 kilometres worth Rs 15,592 crore in Andhra Pradesh. The virtual event was presided over by Chief Minister of the state YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The total length of National Highways in Andhra Pradesh has now been increased by 64 per cent. Before May 2014, there were 4,193 kilometres and have been increased to 6860 kilometres.
Many flagship corridors such as Delhi Mumbai Expressway and the Delhi Amritsar Katra Expressway, are being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana. Nitin Gadkari said that works costing Rs 34,100 crore are under the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage and targeted for completion by 2024, while works costing Rs 25,440 crore are under implementation.
The 335-kilometre Anantpur-Amaravati Expressway is another project that is being developed as a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The access control Expressway improving connectivity of the Capital Region, Coastal and Northern region of Andhra Pradesh has 16 packages and is being developed with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore.
The Bangalore-Chennai Expressway with a length of 262 kilometres is also another such project that is being developed under this initiative. This access control Expressway, improving connectivity between Bangalore and Chennai, will have three packages with a total length of 85 kilometres and is being developed in the state with an investment of Rs 5,200 crore. The works have been sanctioned and construction is being initiated in another 16 projects of length 878 kilometres at an investment of Rs 7,585 crore including the construction of the Western Side Benz Circle Flyover in Vijayawada.
Projects with total length of 637 km costing Rs 8,306 crore are likely to be completed during 2020-21. These include eight projects with road length of 150 km at a cost of Rs 3,850 crore by NHAI, and 19 projects with road length of 487 km at a cost of Rs 4,456 crore by MoRTH.
Further, projects with total length of 535 km costing Rs 11,712 crore are to be awarded during FY21. These include four projects with road length of 217 km at a cost of Rs 9,071 crore by NHAI, and nine projects with road length of 318 km at a cost of Rs 2,641 crore by MoRTH.
Another 2,371 km projects costing Rs 34,133 crore are in DPR stage. These include 10 projects with road length of 713 km at a cost of Rs 19,559 crore by NHA; 24 projects with road length of 404 km at a cost of Rs 7,004 crore, and 20 projects with road length of 1,254 km at a cost of Rs 7,570 crore by MoRTH.