Govt approved 8 National High Speed Road Corridor worth ₹ 50,655 crore

The Government of India has approved the construction of eight new national high-speed corridor projects to meet the country's current and future demand. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the eight new national high-speed corridor projects at a meeting in New Delhi on 2 August 2024.

Rs 50,655 crore project to build 936 Km of roads 

The total cost of the newly approved eight national high-speed road corridor projects is Rs 50,655 crore, and 936 km of roads will be constructed across the country.

These eight projects are estimated to generate 4.42 crore mandays of employment.

Approved National High-Speed Road Corridor 

Of the eight road projects approved by the central government, one is 8-lane, three are 6-lane, and four are 4-lane. These projects are expected to boost connectivity in the country and aid its economic growth.

8 lane road projects 

• Nashik Phata - Khed Elevated Road Corridor near Pune, Maharastra, at a cost of  Rs 7,827 crore with a length of 30 km. 

6 lane road projects 

• Agra-Gwalior project at a cost of Rs 4.613 crore and a length of 88 km. The corridor is expected to improve connectivity to key tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

• Tharad—Deesa—Mehsana—Ahmedabad, which will be 214 km long and cost Rs 10,534 crore, will connect the Gujarat—Amritsar—Jamnagar Corridor and Delhi—Mumbai Expressway. It will also allow freight vehicles to reach major ports in Maharashtra (JNPT, Mumbai, and the newly sanctioned Vadhavan port).
• Kanpur Ring Road will be built at a cost of Rs  Rs. 3,298 Crore with a length of 47 km. 

4 lane  Road Projects 

• Ayodhya Ring Road in Uttar Pradesh to be built at a cost of Rs 3,935 crore with a length of 68km. It will reduce congestion on the National Highways passing through the city.
• Kharagpur—Moregram Road, 231 km long and costing Rs 10,247 crore, is in West Bengal and is expected to improve connectivity between West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and the North East.
• Pathalgaon and Gumla section of the Raipur-Ranchi corridor at a cost of Rs 4,473 crore with a length of 137 km. The road project will improve connectivity between mining areas in Dhanbad, Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh and Korba and industrial and manufacturing zones located in  Bokaro, Dhanbad, Raipur, Durg, Korba and Bilaspur.
• Northern Guwahati bypass in Assam at the cost of Rs 5,729 crore with a length of 121-km. The project also includes the construction of a bridge over river Brahmaputra in Assam.

Road Network In India 

In India, the central government is responsible for developing the National Highways, while the state government is responsible for developing State Highways, District roads, village roads, etc.

The following data is from the 2022-23 Annual report of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

• After the United States of America, India has the second-largest road network in the world. As of 31 December 2022, the total road network in India was  63.32 lakh km.
• Out of the total road network, the National Highway was 1,44,955 km, and the rest are the state roads, district roads and village roads.
• As of 31 March 2019, National Highways comprised 2.09 per cent of the total road network in the country, followed by State Highways at 2.84 per cent. Rural roads were the highest at 71.42 per cent, followed by District roads (9.68 per cent) and urban roads (8.55 per cent). 
• According to the report, the percentage of surfaced roads to total road length in the country was 64.70. 

Maximum National Highways in State 

1. Maharashtra -18,459.25 km of National Highways and a total number of 102 National Highways passes through the state.
2. Uttar Pradesh  -12,270.23 km of National Highway and a total number of 88 National Highways pass through the state.
3. Rajasthan -10,706.34 km of National Highway and a total number of 52 National Highways pass through the state.
4. Madhya Pradesh- 9,104.64 46 km of National Highway and a total number of 46 National Highways passes through the state.

 Current Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway- Nitin Gadkari