Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said that Narendra Modi government will take up Rs 1 lakh crore worth road connectivity works in Andhra Pradesh, before the end of its present term.
Speaking at the Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam today, he said that National Waterway 4 or Buckingham Canal (1,095-km long) works begins after the ongoing assembly elections’ in five states at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. This will connect Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and it will be a joint venture project between the state and central governments.
He said that a subsidiary company will be created which will be merged with Visakhapatnam Port as the idea is to use the profits of this port for Buckingham canal. He said that Rs 7,000 crore was being invested in Visakhapatnam port, which is the second largest port in the country.
According to the minister, Rs 1,665 crore worth of projects have been already completed, while works are going on for Rs 2,702 crore worth projects. Within three months, he said Rs 2,000 crore worth more projects would be awarded.
Gadkari said that two coastal economic zones will be created at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore as part of the Sagarmala project in Andhra Pradesh. Both the zones — one covering Srikakulam to Vijayawada and the other from Vijayawada to Nellore — will come under Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor.
He said these two are part of the 14 coastal economic zones, planned by the commerce ministry in the country as part of the ambitious Sagarmala project, which will create direct employment for 40 lakh people and indirect employment for 60 lakh.
The minister announced that work on the Amaravati-Anantapur highway will start as soon as possible, for which land acquisition has started. He also promised to start works on the Raipur-Visakhapatnam highway as suggested by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister This 750 km long highway will cost Rs 5,000 crore and it is expected to connect Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharasthra.
Meanwhile, NHAI and the Department of Roads and Buildings (R&B) inked MoU for construction of 3,000 km of roads, worth Rs 75,000 crore. The second MoU was signed between NHAI and CRDA for 426 km, worth Rs 23,430 crore. He also announced Rs 1,000 crore for Central Road Fund (CRF) in Andhra Pradesh and 30 rail over bridges at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.
