Badvel-Nellore Highway Worth Rs 3,653 Crore, Railways' Multitracking Projects Get Cabinet Nod

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of a four-lane Badvel-Nellore Corridor with a length of 108.134 km at a cost of Rs 3,653.10 crore. The corridor will be in the state of Andhra Pradesh on NH-67, according to an official release issued on Wednesday.

The highway corridor project will generate about 20 lakh man-days of direct employment and 23 lakh man-days of indirect employment and will be on Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer or DBFOT mode, it said.

This project is set to increase the connectivity to important nodes in the industrial corridors of Andhra Pradesh -- Orvakal node and Krishnapatnam node. This will also have a positive impact on the logistic performance index of the country, the release said.

The project will reduce the travel distance to Krishanpatnam port by 33.9 km from 142 km to 108.13 km while also bringing down foot print and vehicle operating cost.

Cabinet also approved two multitracking projects across Indian Railways covering four districts in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, according to another official release. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 3,399 crore and is expected to be completed by 2029 to 2030.

The projects include the "Ratlam-Nagda 3^rd and 4^th line" in Madhya Pradesh and "Wardha- Balharshah 4^th line" in Maharashtra.

These projects are set to increase the network of Indian Railways by about 176 kms and enhance connectivity to about 784 villages.

These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, containers, agriculture commodities, and petroleum products along with others. The project is also set to help in minimising logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import and lower carbon dioxide emissions.