Naidu forms 9-member team to speed up highway projects
By : MD Ilyas
Update: 2024-10-24 23:06 GMT
Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday reviewed the ongoing national highway projects in Andhra Pradesh with officials of the state and the highway authorities.
Officials informed the CM that 129 national highway projects are being implemented in the state involving 3,300 km of roads. The national highways cost Rs 76,000 crore. In addition, new projects involving another Rs 30,000 crore will be taken up.
Naidu said these projects, coming in the wake of Swarnachaturbhuja (Golden Quadrilateral) roads, will have all basic facilities, strengthen the country’s economy and improve the living standards of the people.
The Chief Minister disclosed that they are forming a task force of nine people representing the national highway, forest, railway, roads and revenue officials. They will expedite the works by coordinating with the respective departments, so that road projects are completed quickly. A special portal will keep all officials posted about the problems, so that they can quickly resolve them.
Naidu told the contractors that they can carry all the sand required for construction of highways for free. Similarly, necessary permissions will be given to construction companies promptly for acquiring the gravel required for the highway projects.
Naidu said as part of the Bharat Mala project, three projects are being implemented in the state involving six-lane roads, including Raipur-Visakhapatnam, Chittoor-Thatchur and Bangalore-Kadapa roads running for 518 km within the state.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that land acquisition is pending with regard to 11 projects involving 260 km of roads worth Rs 4,766 crore in the state. Due to this, works on these projects are yet to start. They pointed out that permission is required from the forest department for construction of 7.5 km of roads in the 9th package of the Bangalore-Kadapa-Vijayawada Expressway.