Rs 50,655 Crore Investment: Cabinet Approves 8 New National High-Speed Corridors

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the development of eight key national high-speed corridor projects spanning 936 km for Rs 50,655 crore across India. This initiative is set to generate an estimated 4.42 crore man-days of direct and indirect employment, according to a statement by the CCEA.

Project Highlights:

Agra – Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor:

Length: 88 km
Cost: Rs 4,613 crore
Mode: Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)

Details: A 6-lane, fully access-controlled corridor that will double the traffic capacity between Agra and Gwalior, reducing the distance by 7% and travel time by 50%. It will enhance connectivity to key tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Kharagpur – Moregram National High-Speed Corridor:

Length: 231 km
Cost: Rs 10,247 crore
Mode: Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM)

Details: A 4-lane corridor that will increase traffic capacity by five times between Kharagpur and Moregram, reducing travel time from 9-10 hours to 3-5 hours, and improving connectivity for states like West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh to the North-East.

Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor:
Length: 214 km
Cost: Rs 10,534 crore
Mode: Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)

Details: A 6-lane corridor connecting key national corridors in Gujarat, enhancing logistics efficiency and reducing travel distance and time significantly.

Ayodhya Ring Road:
Length: 68 km
Cost: Rs 3,935 crore
Mode: Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM)
Details: A 4-lane ring road aimed at reducing congestion in Ayodhya, improving connectivity for pilgrims and tourists.

Pathalgaon – Gumla Section of Raipur-Ranchi National High-Speed Corridor:
Length: 137 km
Cost: Rs 4,473 crore
Mode: Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM)
Details: A 4-lane corridor enhancing connectivity between mining and industrial zones in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Kanpur Ring Road:
Length: 47 km
Cost: Rs 3,298 crore
Mode: Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC)
Details: A 6-lane ring road to segregate long-distance traffic from city-bound traffic, improving logistics efficiency in Uttar Pradesh.

Northern Guwahati Bypass and Improvement of Existing Guwahati Bypass:
Length: 121 km
Cost: Rs 5,729 crore
Mode: Build-Operate-Toll (BOT)
Details: A project including a major bridge over the Brahmaputra, enhancing connectivity in the North-East region.

Elevated Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune:
Length: 30 km
Cost: Rs 7,827 crore
Mode: Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)
Details: An 8-lane elevated corridor to improve connectivity and alleviate congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The CCEA emphasized the importance of infrastructure development for economic prosperity and improved quality of life. The length of national highways has increased by 1.6 times from 0.91 lakh km in 2013-14 to 1.46 lakh km currently. Capital investment in national highways has surged from Rs 50,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 3.1 lakh crore in 2023-24. The corridor-based highway development approach focuses on consistent standards and logistics efficiency, supporting India's transformation into an over USD 30 trillion economy by 2047.