BHUBANESWAR: The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved construction of the long-awaited coastal highway connecting Rameshwar and Paradip at an estimated cost of Rs 8,300.79 crore.
The project, to be executed under hybrid annuity model (HAM), will significantly improve connectivity along the state’s coastline while strengthening links to key economic and logistic hubs, said Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at New Delhi.
The 160.18 km corridor will be developed in two packages. The first package comprises a 79.4 km four-lane access-controlled highway from Rameshwar to Konark with an estimated cost of Rs 5,304.80 crore, while the second package involves a cost of Rs 2,995.99 crore for 80.78 km two-lane highway with paved shoulders from Konark to Paradip. Both stretches are designed for speed of up to 100 kmph and expected to be completed within a concession period of 17.5 years, including 2.5 years of construction and 15 years of operation and maintenance, Vaishnaw said.
The highway will pass through the districts of Khurda, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur.
Vaishnaw said the project aims to decongest existing routes, particularly sections of NH-316 between Puri, Satapada and Konark, where ribbon development and heavy local traffic have hindered smooth long-distance travel.
Aligned with the PM Gati Shakti initiative, the coastal highway will connect nine economic nodes which includes 2 SEZs, mega food parks, fishing cluster in Paradeep, Konark, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Kendrapada and pharma cluster at Cuttack. It will also have five logistics nodes including Puri Railway Station, the proposed Puri Airport, Astarang Port and Paradip Port. The corridor is also expected to support industrial clusters, fisheries, tourism and export-oriented sectors across the coastal belt.
Upon completion, the union minister said, travel time between Rameshwar and Paradip is projected to reduce by nearly two-and-a-half hours. The project will also facilitate faster movement of passengers and freight, lower fuel consumption and vehicle operating costs, and reduce carbon emissions.
The detailed project report of the coastal highway project from Paradip to Digha in West Bengal which is approximately 200 km is under progress. The highway is also expected to generate substantial employment, with an estimated 53.61 lakh direct man-days and 67.01 lakh indirect man-days during construction and related activities
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for their support and commitment for the development of the state.
Majhi called the project a reflection of the Centre’s commitment to building world-class infrastructure in Odisha while Pradhan said this long-awaited project will give fresh momentum to the state’s blue economy, coastal tourism and industrialisation.
Pradhan has been pushing the project since 2015 and took up the issue with Gadkari several times in the past to put the project on fasttrack.