BHUBANESWAR: In a significant development, the public private partnership appraisal committee (PPPAC) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has approved a major portion of the ambitious Odisha coastal highway from Rameshwar to Digha to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 8,300.79 crore.
The 160.18 km section from Rameshwar to Paradip of the 346-km greenfield highway will be constructed on hybrid annuity model (HAM) in two packages - four-lane access control carriageway from Rameshwar to Kakatpur and two-lane with paved shoulders from Kakatpur to Paradip.
In May, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had to cancel the tenders floated for the Rameshwar to Paradip stretch due to last minute changes in alignment over traffic volume. Initially planned as a four-lane highway, the 80.78 km Kakatpur-Paradip stretch was reduced to two-lane with paved shoulders.
Of an estimated 794.69 ha of land required for both the packages in Khurda, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, land acquisition has advanced for around 70 per cent of land in package-I and 30 per cent in package-II. This portion of the highway had already received environmental and CRZ clearance, while online application has been filed for stage-I forest clearance.
Sources said, 36 major bridges (including a 3.3 km major bridge over Mahanadi river), 89 minor bridges, 376 culverts and three flyovers will be constructed as part of the project, apart from six viaducts, three rail overbridges (ROBs) and 45 vehicle underpasses. The general arrangement drawings for all three ROBs have also been approved.
The 79.4 km Rameshwar-Kakatpur (Konark) stretch will primarily cater to tourism-related traffic, while the Kakatpur-Paradip section has been aligned to serve the upcoming ports and logistics hubs. Although the traffic survey conducted for the current proposal does not include projections from upcoming ports, once the Astaranga port becomes operational, the two-lane stretch in package-II will be upgraded to four-lane.
“Initially, the two-lane road will be constructed on one side. After the port development, the opposite side will be developed to complete a four-lane access-controlled corridor to cater to the long-term traffic demand,” sources said.
As per the traffic assessment, the estimated volume for package-I is 10,437 passenger car units (PCUs), whereas for package-II, the estimated volume is 7,249 PCUs. The projected traffic on the corridor is 14,377 PCUs by 2037-38 and 20,833 PCUs by 2047-48. The package-I will be taken up at a cost of Rs 5,304.8 crore and the package-II at Rs 2,995.99 crore. Both the packages include land acquisition cost of Rs 1,316.25 crore.
Chief general manager of NHAI (Odisha circle) Veerendra Singh said bids for the project will be invited after it receives the cabinet approval. “The detailed project report for the remaining section of the highway from Paradip to Digha is underway and it will be taken up in the second phase next year,” he told The New Indian Express.
Once constructed, the distance from Rameshwar to Paradip will be reduced from 210 km to 160.18 km while travel time will come down almost 45 per cent from existing 5.5 hrs to 3 hrs.
Project estimates
Total cost: Rs 8,300 cr
Rameshwar-Kakatpur package-I: Rs 5,304 cr
Kakatpur-Paradip package-II: Rs 2,996 cr
Road length: 160 km
Major bridges: 36
Minor bridges: 89
Flyovers: 3
Underpass: 45