BHUBANESWAR: The long-delayed widening and upgradation of National Highway-55, one of the state’s most important freight corridors connecting the industrial hubs of Angul, Talcher and Sambalpur with Paradip Port, has suffered further setback with key stretches now expected to be completed only by 2027.
According to information furnished by Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, only 209 km of the 355-km highway has been upgraded so far, while work is continuing on 136 km. Another 10 km, including critical stretches through Rairakhol town and Mulakani-Naugaon in Jagatsinghpur district, is yet to be taken up.
Work for the Cuttack-Angul section, the most crucial link for mineral and industrial traffic, is nearly complete at 98.9 per cent. The project had been awarded in January 2018 and was originally scheduled for completion in July 2020. It is now expected to be completed only by August 31 this year, more than six years after the original deadline.
The ministry attributed the delay to the pandemic, public protests, demands for additional pedestrian underpasses near animal crossings, delays in utility shifting and slow progress by the contractor.
Another major package covering the 41.47-km Kandarpur-Balikuda stretch is 85 per cent complete. Although it was due for completion in June 2025, the revised deadline has been pushed to November 24. Delays in land acquisition, compensation payments, shifting of railway and other utilities and slow execution by the contractor were cited as the principal reasons.
The 34.48-km Balikuda-Mulakani section, which commenced in June 2025, has also fallen behind schedule. The ministry has extended its completion target to June 1, 2027, citing delays in land acquisition and pending forest clearances. In addition, work on the six-km Rairakhol town section and the 4.47-km Mulakani-Naugaon stretch has not yet commenced.
NH-55 is regarded as one of Odisha’s busiest economic corridors, carrying coal, steel, aluminium and other mineral cargo from the industrial belts of Angul, Talcher and western Odisha to Paradip Port for domestic distribution and exports. The prolonged delay has continued to affect freight movement, logistics efficiency and travel time on the strategic route.
Replying to a question by BJP Rajya Sabha member Debashish Samantaray, the Union minister said funds for national highway development are allocated on a state-wide basis. Odisha received Rs 5,948 crore in 2023-24, Rs 6,121 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 5,982 crore in 2025-26 for national highway development and maintenance, with utilisation of Rs 5,948 crore, Rs 5,786 crore and Rs 5,862 crore, respectively.
