Bhubaneswar: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday laid foundation stone for three National Highway projects of a total length of 132 km in Odisha, worth Rs 2345 crore.
The foundation stones for the projects were laid at a function held at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district.
The projects include four laning of the 41.726 km Talcher-Kamakhyanagar section of NH 200/23, (New NH 53) at a cost of Rs 795.18 crore; the 51.1 km Kamakhyanagar-Duburi section of NH 200 (New NH 53) at a cost of Rs 761.11 crore and 39.4 km Duburi-Chandikhole section of NH 200 (New NH 53) at Rs 789.23 crore.
These projects will have appropriate structures to reduce traffic congestion and ensure safety of road users. These would include three bypasses, one flyover, 19 vehicular underpasses, nine major and 39 minor bridges and 45 km of service road.
These NH projects will ensure better connectivity of the mineral rich Angul and Dhenkanal districts of Odisha with the rest of the state and reduce travel time.
between places, the projects would help in reducing the operating cost of vehicles and bring down the levels of pollution. All this will help generate employment opportunities in the region and improve the socioeconomic condition of the local people.
On the occasion, Gadkari urged the Odisha government for early clearance of files related to environment, forest, land acquisition and CRZ in connection with the 450 km-long Coastal Highways project in Odisha. “If the state government cooperates, we can initiate the project work within 4-6 months,” he said.
In the afternoon, the Union minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multi-port projects worth Rs 3,637 crore, including a multi-purpose clean cargo berth, at Paradip Port on February 6, in the presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The berth, built at a cost of Rs 431 crore, has a capacity to handle cargo up to 50 lakh tonne annually and can handle cape size vessels up to 1,25,000 DWT.
