An eight-lane highway near Pune, a six-lane one connecting Ahmedabad, a four-lane one in Ayodhya — these are few of the eight national high-speed corridor projects that the Centre approved on Friday under which 936-km length highways will be constructed at a cost Rs 50,655 crore. Earlier this year, Bengaluru and Pune were listed as the slowest cities in the world, being the worst hit by traffic in the country. As such, the government has planned the corridor highway infrastructure development project, identifying a network of 50,000 km of High-Speed Highway Corridors through a scientific transport study based on GSTN, a statement by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs stated. Here's all we know about the projects: The four-lane projects Kharagpur - Moregram National High-Speed Corridor The 231 km 4-lane access-controlled corridor developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) mode — two or more contractors — at Rs 10,247 crore cost supplements the existing 2-lane National Highway (NH) to increase capacity by 5 times between Kharagpur and Moregram. The corridor aims to provide efficient connectivity between states like West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Northeast India. The 4-lane project is expected to reduce freight travel time from 9-10 hours to 3-5 hours, lowering logistics costs. Ayodhya Ring Road The 68 km 4-lane access-controlled ring road developed in HAM mode at Rs 3,935 crore cost is expected to reduce congestion on NHs passing through Ayodhya, enabling faster movement of pilgrims to Rama Mandir. The 4-lane project aims to provide connectivity to tourists arriving via Lucknow, Ayodhya airports, and major railway stations. Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National High-Speed Corridor The Gumla Section of Raipur-Ranchi National High-speed Corridor, a 137 km 4-lane access-controlled section developed at Rs 4,473 crore cost is expected to enhance connectivity between mining areas in Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh, Korba, Dhanbad and industrial zones in Raipur, Durg, Korba, Bilaspur, Bokaro, Dhanbad. Northern Guwahati Bypass and widening of existing Guwahati Bypass The 121 km Guwahati Ring Road developed in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode — public and private partnerships — at Rs 5,729 crore cost is focused on 3 sections; -56 km 4-lane access-controlled Northern Guwahati Bypass -8 km existing 4-lane bypass on NH 27 to 6 lanes -58 km existing bypass on NH 27 The 4-lane project is aimed at providing connectivity to long-distance traffic on NH 27 (East-West Corridor) to the Northeast region and is expected to ease congestion on major NHs around Guwahati, connecting cities like Siliguri, Silchar, Shillong, Jorhat, Tezpur, Jogigopha, Barpeta. The six-lane projects Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor The 88 km high-speed corridor developed as a 6-lane access-controlled highway on BOT mode at Rs 4,613 crore cost supplements the existing 4-lane NH to increase capacity by over 2 times between Agra and Gwalior. The project is expected to enhance connectivity to tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and reduce distance by 7 per cent and travel time by 50 per cent. Tharad - Deesa - Mehsana - Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor The 214 km 6-lane corridor developed on BOT mode at Rs 10,534 crore cost will connect the Amritsar-Jamnagar and Delhi-Mumbai corridors in Gujarat and is expected to provide connectivity for freight from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan to major ports in Maharashtra. The project is aimed to reduce distance by 20 per cent and travel time by 60 per cent between Tharad and Ahmedabad. Kanpur Ring Road The 47 km 6-lane access-controlled section developed on Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode — government funds while the private sector provides construction instruments — at Rs 3,298 crore cost will complete 6-lane NH ring around Kanpur, segregating long-distance traffic on key NHs from city traffic. The project is expected to improve logistics efficiency for freight travelling between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. The eight-lane project Nashik Phata - Khed Corridor near Pune The 30 km 8-lane elevated corridor from Nashik Phata to Khed developed on BOT mode at Rs 7,827 crore cost is aimed at providing high-speed connectivity for traffic between industrial centers of Chakan, Bhosari, among others on NH-60 between Pune and Nashik. The project is expected to alleviate the serious congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad.
