PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that the proposed six-lane elevated corridor connecting Maduravoyal and Sriperumbudur NH-48, estimated at Rs 600 crore, will receive government approval by January 2026.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of three major NH projects in Puducherry worth Rs 2,050 crore, Gadkari said that the four-lane elevated corridor between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal has achieved 10 percent progress.
“Once completed, this project will greatly ease traffic congestion in Chennai. The Chennai–Bengaluru Expressway will be completed within six months and also reduce travel time to just two hours,” he said.
The projects include the dedication of the Puducherry-Poondianguppam bypass built at a cost of Rs 1,558 crore, the foundation stone for construction of a flyover from Rajiv Gandhi Square to Indira Gandhi Square at Rs 436 crore, and Ganapathi Chettikulam-Puducherry road improvement project at Rs 25 crore.
The Minister added that the upcoming Maduravoyal–Sriperumbudur stretch will significantly enhance port connectivity and boost trade efficiency in Chennai. Four-lane elevated corridor (3 km) connecting Natesan Nagar to Marapalam Junction and four-lane Ariyankuppam to Mullodai section (13.5 km) on Cuddalore Road built at a cost of Rs 650 crore was also announced.
He added that the projects which will ease traffic between Puducherry and Cuddalore and improve connectivity with Villupuram have been approved on the request of CM N Rangasamy and L-G K Kailashnathan.
Additionally, land acquisition work has begun for the 46-km-long, four-lane Puducherry–Marakkanam flyover project, estimated at Rs 2,200 crore.
Efforts under way to reduce logistics cost to 9 per cent by year-end, says Union Minister
Puducherry: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that India is set to lead the world in alternative and biofuels. At an event in Puducherry on Monday, he said the size of the automobile industry in India has grown from Rs 14 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 22 lakh crore now, creating 4.5 crore jobs.
The minister dedicated the 38 km four-lane Puducherry–Poondiyankuppam section of NH-32, built for Rs 1,588 crore to the nation. He also laid the foundation stone for a 4 km elevated corridor between Indira Gandhi Square and Rajiv Gandhi Square on NH-32 at an outlay of Rs 436 crore.
The foundation stone for the Rs 25 crore improvement works of a 14 km stretch of the East Coast Road (NH-332A) was also laid. Highlighting sustainable construction practices, he said that electric mobility and alternative fuels would play a vital role in reducing logistics costs and increasing export competitiveness. Efforts are on to bring down the logistic costs to 9% by the end of the year.
