Visakhapatnam: The outer ring road for Vizag city again came to fore after bifurcation as part of giving a face-lift. Now, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and Vuda are considering the project, as the state government is keen on improving necessary infrastructure for the citizens. The Vuda board had earlier decided to take up an outer ring road (ORR), on the lines of the one in Hyderabad to promote stress-free conveyance. The GVMC had proposed various programmes for its development and officials are preparing a detailed project report regarding many facilities with Rs 40,000-50, 000 crore. The outer ring road is one among such proposals for hassle-free transportation for commuters.
As Vizag has been the second biggest city in the state, it has the right credentials to become the region’s important urban conglomeration with all kinds of connectivity like road, rail, port and an international airport. Vuda has already included an inner ring road covering the city, Anandapuram, Pendurthy, NAD, Convent Junction and Bheemunipatnam; the GVMC is also considering the outer ring road to cover all other areas under its jurisdiction.
“The proposed outer ring road would lessen traffic woes in and around the city. A detailed project report covering various development aspects is underway. If the package on the lines of Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh becomes a reality, the districts of Kurnool, Anan-tapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Srikakulam, Viziana-garam and Visakhapa-tnam will get a facelift. And, now we are getting ready plans accordingly,” said a senior official from the GVMC.
As per the proposals, the corporation proposed around 1.50 lakh houses for urban poor, MRTS project and related development activity, improvement of basic amenities in Anakapalli and Bheemili with around Rs 1,500 crore, sports complexes, stadia, tourism convention centres and many others. The total cost of the projects would be around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore and the officials are hopeful that the Centre would bear 90 pc of its share.
“The state government may ask about these proposals at any point of time and we are getting ready according to the present and future needs. Some of the projects like BRTS have been completed and going to take up Metro Rail as part of MRTS shortly. They would add more transport convenience to the city population,” the official added.
