The 78th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM GatiShakti initiative was convened in New Delhi, Ministry of Commerce & Industry said on Friday.
The meeting focused on evaluating 18 crucial road infrastructure projects proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
These projects, across various states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bihar, align with the principles of integrated planning outlined in the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP).
Projects in Tamil Nadu and Kerala include Madurai-Kollam ICR. This alignment is developed in two distinct projects as the road corridor is passing along two states. This 4-lane corridor spans 129.92Km (68.30 km in Tamil Nadu and 61.62 km in Kerala).
Madurai-Dhanushkodi Highway is a 46.67 km 4-lane stretch focuses on improving connectivity while the Chennai-Mahabalipuram-Pondicherry Corridor is a 46.05 km 4-lane project aims to enhance the connectivity of coastal areas.
A 6.60 km high capacity 8-lane road project in Thoppur Ghat Section was also discussed.
Projects in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh included Belagavi Ring Road (NH848R), a 4-lane road spanning 75.39 km, as well as the Tumkur Bypass, another 4-lane strategic bypass highway of 44.10 km.
The NPG also discussed the 4-lane 138 km Bhopal-Sagar Economic Corridor and the Western Bypass of Gwalior City, another 4-lane 56.90 km in the state. A 6-lane 16.44 km Ayodhya Nagar Bypass was also discussed at the meet.
For Maharashtra and Telangana, four 4-lane projects were discussed. These included 59.22 km Ahmednagar-Solapur Corridor, 54 km Talegaon-Chakan–Shikrapur Corridor, 58.87 km Jagtial-Karimnagar Highways, and 131.90 km Armoor-Jagtial-Mancherial Highway.
In Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bihar, the 4-lane highways discussed were 108.13 km Badvel-Nellore Corridor; 35.38 km Sambalpur Ring Road, 86.79 km Cuttack Paradip Corridor, and 162.95 km Bakarpur-Manikpur-Sahebgunj-Areraj-Bettiah Highway.
The meeting was chaired by Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Rajeev Singh Thakur.
