VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has unveiled an ambitious roadmap for expanding its road infrastructure, with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directing officials to complete ongoing and planned national highway projects worth Rs 1.40 lakh crore by 2029.
At a review meeting held at the Camp Office, the Chief Minister stressed the importance of reducing freight transportation costs and strengthening connectivity to ports and industrial hubs.
He noted that highway works worth Rs 42,194 crore are currently in progress and must be completed by December next year.
A key focus is the Bengaluru–Kadapa–Vijayawada Economic Corridor, which is expected to be completed by 2027, linking the capital Amaravati with markets in southeren States.
The CM also instructed officials to prepare detailed project reports for the Kharagpur–Amaravati Greenfield Expressway and to accelerate plans for corridors connecting Nagpur–Vijayawada–Machilipatnam, Raipur–Amaravati as also Mulapeta Port–Jagdalpur–Raipur.
Ports at Mulapeta, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam, and Krishnapatnam will be integrated into the highway network, with new roads connecting hinterland regions to facilitate cargo movement from neighbouring states.
Officials reported that an action plan has been prepared to construct 6,054 km of roads at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore.
Modern technologies are being adopted, including Danish fibre, waste plastic bitumen, and nano-concrete developed by IIT Tirupati.
The Chief Minister directed that State and district roads covering 45,000 km must be maintained pothole-free, with continuous monitoring through RAMS technology.
Plans are also underway to upgrade existing two-lane highways into four- and six-lane roads, and 12 projects covering 709 km will be taken up under the Public Private Partnership (PP) model.
Andhra Pradesh Roads and Buildings Minister BC Janardhan Reddy, Special Chief Secretary to the Government MT Krishnababu, and officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were among those who attended the review meeting.