Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 16 national highway projects in Andhra Pradesh on 16 October 2020. The total road length is 1,411 km with a cumulative investment of Rs 15,592 crore.
The length of national highways in Andhra Pradesh before May 2014 was 4,193 km, which has now increased to 6,860 km. Works costing Rs 34,100 crore are under detailed project report (DPR) stage and targeted for completion by 2024, while works costing Rs 25,440 crore are under implementation.
Around 50-60 percent progress has been achieved in projects costing Rs 18,100 crore.
Many flagship corridors such as Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Amritsar- Katra Expressway, Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway, Anantapur-Amaravati Expressway, etc are being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana.
The 335 km Anantpur-Amaravati Expressway is being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana. The access-controlled expressway will improve connectivity of the capital region, coastal and northern region of Andhra Pradesh and enable economic prosperity of the region.
The expressway has 16 packages and is being developed with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. It connects Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh with Anantapuramu of Rayalaseema Region and provides a major connectivity between NH-44 & NH-16 which are the lifeline in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway with a length of 262 km is also one of the Expressways being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana. This access- controlled expressway will improve connectivity between Bengaluru and Chennai and enable economic prosperity of the region.
Three packages with a total length of 85 km are being developed in the state of Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 5,200 crore. The works have been sanctioned and construction is being initiated in another 16 projects of length 878 km at an investment of Rs 7,585 crore. It includes construction of Western Side Benz Circle Flyover in the city limits of Vijayawada.
Projects with total length of 637 km costing Rs 8,306 crore are likely to be completed during 2020-21. These include eight projects with road length of 150 km at a cost of Rs 3,850 crore by NHAI, and 19 projects with road length of 487 km at a cost of Rs 4,456 crore by MoRTH.
Further, projects with total length of 535 km costing Rs 11,712 crore are to be awarded during FY21. These include four projects with road length of 217 km at a cost of Rs 9,071 crore by NHAI, and nine projects with road length of 318 km at a cost of Rs 2,641 crore by MoRTH.
Another 2,371 km projects costing Rs 34,133 crore are in DPR stage. These include 10 projects with road length of 713 km at a cost of Rs 19,559 crore by NHA; 24 projects with road length of 404 km at a cost of Rs 7,004 crore, and 20 projects with road length of 1,254 km at a cost of Rs 7,570 crore by MoRTH.