NELLORE: In a major infrastructure push for Andhra Pradesh, the Centre has cleared a Rs 3,600 crore four-lane highway project connecting Nellore and Badvel, paving the way for faster movement of goods and supporting economic growth across three major industrial corridors in the State. Plans are underway to initiate the works within six months, as the tender process is nearing completion.
The proposed Nellore-Badvel corridor is strategically important as it will connect key industrial nodes, including Kopparthy under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), Orvakal under the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC), and Krishnapatnam under the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). The integration of these nodes is expected to improve India’s logistics performance and streamline freight movement.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had already approved the project last year. The 108-km four-lane highway along National Highway-67 will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore under the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) model,” Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy said.
The corridor will begin at Gopavaram village in YSR Kadapa district on NH-67 and extend up to the Krishnapatnam Port junction on NH-16 in SPSR Nellore district. It will also strengthen access to Krishnapatnam Port, a key maritime hub identified as a priority node under CBIC.
According to MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, the new highway will shorten the travel distance to Krishnapatnam Port by nearly 34 km - from 142 km to about 108 km - cutting travel time by approximately one hour.
This is expected to reduce fuel consumption, lower vehicle operating costs, and decrease carbon emissions.
The project is also poised to generate employment, with estimates of around 20 lakh person-days of direct jobs and 23 lakh man-days of indirect employment. Additional job opportunities are likely to emerge as economic activity picks up along the corridor once completed.