VIJAYAWADA: A total of 39 national highway projects costing around Rs 31,000 crore have been either approved, sanctioned or under sanction in Andhra Pradesh in 2022-23, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.In the past three years, 134 national highway projects costing a total of Rs 58,318.29 crore and covering a total length of 3,605 km have been completed or under construction or awarded, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in the Rajya Sabha, replying to a question raised by YSRC MP Parimal Nathwani.
The MP sought details of the national highway projects completed or under construction in AP in the last three years, including total length and cost of each project. He also asked for details of the new national highway projects approved/sanctioned for AP for the next three to five years.
In the reply, with regard to the question on projects proposed for the next three to five years, the Union Minister replied that development and maintenance of national highways is a continuous process. Projects to be taken up in successive years are finalised based on the outcome of Detailed Project Report (DPR), traffic volume, inter-se-priority and availability of resources.
Gadkari further said no projects are approved or sanctioned for the next three to five years. In 2022-23, the Bengaluru-Vijayawada Expressway (Package I to VI) covering a length of 160 km and costing Rs 6,169 crore is one of the biggest national highway projects considered in AP. Four laning of Bengaluru-Vijayawada Expressway (Package XI to XIV) covering a length of 1115.254 km and costing a total of Rs 4,120 crore is the other major project approved/sanctioned/under sanction list in 2022-23.