VIJAYAWADA: The meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a 4-lane Badvel-Nellore Corridor with a length of 108.134 km at a cost of Rs 3,653.10 crore on National Highway 67 under the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) mode.
The proposed Badvel-Nellore Corridor will provide connectivity to important nodes in the three Industrial Corridors of Andhra Pradesh, i.e., Kopparthy Node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), Orvakal Node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC), and Krishnapatnam Node on Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC).
This will have a positive impact on the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) of the country.
Badvel-Nellore Corridor starts from Gopavaram village on the existing National Highway 67 in Kadapa district and terminates at the Krishnapatnam Port Junction on NH-16 (Chennai-Kolkata) in Nellore district, and will also provide strategic connectivity to Krishnapatnam Port, which has been identified as a priority node under Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
The proposed corridor will reduce the travel distance to Krishnapatnam Port by 33.9 km from 142 km to 108.13 km as compared to the existing Badvel-Nellore road.
This will reduce the travel time by one hour and ensure that substantial gain is achieved in terms of reduced fuel consumption thereby reducing carbon footprint and Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC).
The Badvel-Nellore Corridor project with 108.134 km will generate about 20 lakh man-days of direct employment, and 23 lakh man-days of indirect employment.
“The 4-Lane Badvel-Nellore Corridor, whose construction has been approved by the Cabinet will benefit the development journey of Andhra Pradesh and generate several opportunities for the youth of the state,” Modi posted on ‘X’.
In response to the post by Modi, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naiduposted “The approval of the 4-lane Badvel-Nellore Corridor by the Union Cabinet is a major step forward in our state’s growth, boosting regional connectivity and empowering our youth. I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji and Hon’ble Union Minister Shri @nitin_gadkari Ji for the sanctioning of this corridor.”