Bharatmala gets ₹5.35-lakh-cr funding booster

The Union Transport Ministry has cleared an estimated outlay of ₹5,35,000 crore for Phase-I of the Bharatmala Pariyojna, said official sources. A total of 24,800 km of NHs has been considered in Phase-I as well as 10,000 km residual road construction works have been targeted under NHDP. Under this program, the ministry has identified stretches for development of about 9,000 km of economic corridors, about 6,000 km of inter-corridor and feeder roads, about 5,000 km of national highway corridors for improvements, and 2,000 km of border and International connectivity roads. Apart from this, about 2,000 km of coastal and port connectivity roads and 800 km of expressways will also be built under the program. Under Coastal Roads and Port Connectivity roads component, five road projects with a total length of about 163 km at a cost of ₹2,469 crore have been awarded till March, 2019 in the entire country and progress of all the projects is being monitored electronically to ensure timely completion.