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The Union Cabinet has approved four railway multi-tracking projects and a highway project worth a combined INR 13,041 crore across West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. The railway projects, costing INR 9,450 crore, will add about 410 km of lines across eight districts, strengthening passenger and freight capacity along the Howrah-Chennai route. The INR 3,591-crore highway project covers an 83-km section of NH-22 between Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonbarsa in Bihar. The road corridor will be four-laned under the hybrid annuity model.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 19 August, approved four railway multi-tracking projects and one highway project with a combined investment of INR 13,041 crore across West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. The approvals cover key railway and road corridors and are intended to expand transport capacity, improve connectivity and facilitate the movement of passengers and freight across the five states.
The four railway projects have an estimated investment of INR 9,450 crore and will add about 410 km to the railway network across eight districts. The projects cover sections of the high-density Howrah-Chennai route and comprise the Kharagpur-Bhadrak fourth line, Bhadrak-Haridaspur fourth line, Gummidipundi-Gudur third and fourth lines, and Cuttack-Paradeep third and fourth lines.
According to the government, the railway works will increase freight carrying capacity by 76 million tonnes per annum. The additional capacity will support the movement of commodities including coal, iron ore, cement, containers, automobiles and foodgrains. The projects will also strengthen rail connectivity to tourist destinations such as Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park, Maa Bhadrakali Temple, Pulicat Lake and Lalitgiri.
The Kharagpur-Bhadrak fourth-line project involves an estimated cost of INR 3,352 crore and covers 173 km. The corridor is expected to improve connectivity between steel-producing centres, including Jakhapura, Tatanagar and Durgapur, and the ports of Paradip and Dhamra. The project is estimated to create additional freight capacity of 13 million tonnes annually and generate logistics cost savings of INR 466 crore.
The Cuttack-Paradeep section is among the capacity-constrained railway corridors covered by the approvals. The existing route is operating at up to 101% capacity utilisation, while utilisation is projected to reach 177% with planned expansion of ports and industrial activity in the region. The approved third- and fourth-line works are intended to provide additional capacity on the corridor and support the movement of freight.
The Cabinet has also approved the four-laning of the 83-km Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa section of National Highway-22 in Bihar at a cost of INR 3,591 crore. The project will be implemented under the hybrid annuity model and has a construction period of 30 months. Once completed, the corridor is expected to reduce travel time between Muzaffarpur and Sonbarsa from about two hours to one hour.
The highway project will provide a four-lane connection towards the Nepal border through Sonbarsa and improve access between key locations in northern Bihar. The government has also highlighted the broader role of the approved transport projects in strengthening connectivity to industrial areas, ports, agricultural centres and other economic activity.
The latest approvals form part of the Centre's wider infrastructure investment programme. According to the Cabinet briefing, infrastructure decisions under NDA 3.0 have so far covered 62 railway projects with a combined value of INR 2,74,176 crore, 38 highway projects worth INR 3,82,119 crore and 12 metro projects involving INR 1,46,444 crore.
Source- PIB
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