TIRUPATI: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for three National Highway projects, which will encompass a combined length of 87 km and carry a total cost of Rs 2,900 crore, at Tarakarama stadium here in Tirupati on Thursday.
The first undertaking is the Naidupate-Turpu Kanupur section of NH-71, spanning 35 km and requiring an investment of Rs 1,399 crore. The second project is the Chillakuru Cross-Krishnapatnam Port South Gate section via Turpu Kanupur on NH-516W, covering a distance of 36 km and valued at Rs 909 crore.
The third is the Thamminapatnam-Narikellapalle section which involves an extension of the Dedicated Port Road from Eupuru to Krishnapatnam Port on NH-516W and NH-67.
Its length is 16 km and the value of the project is Rs 610 crore. While the development of the first two NH projects will be taken up under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and the third one will be developed under Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode.
Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Gadkari said that the development of the infrastructure projects will provide seamless connectivity to Krishnapatnam Port, enabling faster access to faster accessibility to National Master Plan Nodes, Industrial Nodes, and SEZ at Nellore.
“The projects will spur industrialisation and generate enormous scale employment opportunities in the region,” Gadkari said and added that they will enhance the safety and convenience of devotees travelling to religious destinations such as Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, Tirupati Lord Shiva temple, Srikalahasti Goddess Rajarajeswari temple and Bara Shaheed Dargah.
He said these projects will bolster tourism by establishing connections to popular attractions like Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, SHAR at Sriharikota, Mypadu Beach and Pulicat Lake. “The length of the NH network in the state has more than doubled from 4,193 km in 2014 to 8,744 km in 2023,” the minister pointed out. Gadkari stated that the Centre has been developing national highways worth Rs 2 lakh crore in AP alone.
World-class inter-model bus station in Tirupati
To equip the Tirapati bus station with world-class amenities, the National Highway Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) and APSRTC have entered into an MoU in August 2022 to develop the bus station, spread across 13 acres, at a cost of `500 crore, said Nitin Gadkari. The tenders of the project will be completed at the end of this month and an international architect company will be roped in to ready the designs for the project