Cabinet approves ₹14,115 crore for Uttar Pradesh Expressway, Delhi Tunnel | Today’s news
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved two major road infrastructure projects worth more than ₹14,000 million crowns.
The CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a plan for a ₹6,970 million 8 km, six-lane tunnel in Delhi and A ₹7,145,242 km controlled access highway connecting Kanpur and Kabrai in Uttar Pradesh, according to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Kanpur-Kabrai project will improve connectivity between the industrial hubs of Uttar Pradesh and the mineral-rich industrial and agricultural areas of Madhya Pradesh. It will initially be built as a four-lane highway with structures designed for future expansion to six lanes.
It will reduce the travel time between Kanpur and Kabrai to 1.5 hours from 3.5 hours, enabling a speed of 80-100 km per hour, the statement said.
The expressway will include a 118 km greenfield section and a 124 km brownfield section that will be strengthened. The expressway will be built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll model and will be completed in 2.5 years. The expressway will handle an annual average daily traffic of 18,069 passenger cars by FY28, the statement said.
“In line with the Prime Minister’s National Master Plan, the GatiShakti project will improve connectivity to 16 economic nodes, including the industrial areas of Unnao, Banther, Pankhi, Rania, Jainpur, Rooma, Chakeri, Sumerpur and Bhuragarh, Trans Ganga Integrated Township, Growth Center Jaipur,” Kangal Nagar Node and Bengal Chemicals Ltd said in a statement.
India currently has 146,572 km of national highways.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Tunnel will connect West Delhi’s Dwarka Expressway with South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, reducing traffic congestion on existing roads. Once completed, it is expected to handle 37,000 cars every day and provide connectivity to six economic nodes of PM GatiShakti and four logistics nodes, said Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics, IT and Railways, during a press briefing.
“This tunnel will be of great benefit to Delhi. It will reduce traffic congestion near the Delhi airport and become a new artery for the national capital,” he said.
Of the 8.1 km long tunnel, 3.1 km will pass under the southern ridge forest to minimize ecological disturbance. The project will be implemented in hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and is scheduled to be completed in five years, Vaishnaw said.
The approval comes a day after Modi chaired a review meeting with central government secretaries on deregulatory reforms and building an independent India, news agency PTI reported on June 30.
