PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said the four-laning of the highway linking Villupuram and Nagapattinam via Puducherry will be fully completed by January 2025. The minister was responding to a question raised by Puducherry MP V Vaithilingam, during a Lok Sabha session on Thursday.
The four-laning project of National Highway 45A has been divided into four stages. The first segment of 29km from Villupuram to Puducherry is set to be finalised by January 2024. Subsequently, the 38km stretch from Puducherry to Poondiyankuppam will be completed by March 2024. The Poondiyankuppam to Sattanathapuram length of 56.8 km will be done by February 2024. The final segment of the project, 55.76km connecting Sattanathapuram to Nagapattinam, is scheduled for completion by January 2025.
The minister said the commuters might face minor hardships at the locations where widening is taken up and at the structures and road over bridge locations where traffic diversions are made. All safety measures have been provided and marshalls have been deployed to ensure smooth and safe movement of traffic, he said.
Replying to another question from the MP, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh announced that the central government has granted in-principle approval for the establishment of 21 Greenfield Airports (GFA) across the country, including one in Karaikal at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore. As of now, 11 GFAs have already been made operational, handling approximately 35 lakh passengers.