NPG lists ₹4.53 lakh-cr urban infra projects to boost connectivity

The Network Planning Group (NPG) has shortlisted various road, rapid rail, metro, and railway projects, including petroleum pipelines, as key infrastructure projects requiring an investment of ₹4.53 lakh crore to be undertaken under the ambit of the PM Gati Shakti master plan. The development of these projects is necessary to boost urban connectivity and support manufacturing. This move comes after the government announced a Rs.10 lakh crore capex plan in the budget for the next fiscal year. The backing of the NPG, consisting of the heads of the planning divisions of eight ministries and departments, is expected to result in faster approvals and implementation of the projects.

The NPG evaluates projects that have been developed by various infrastructure ministries, endorses them to the Ministry of Finance and the proponent ministry, and makes suggestions. Under the PM Gati Shakti principles, an integrated approach must be adopted while proposing connectivity projects, and multi-modality or inter-modal infrastructure and last-mile connectivity should be considered. Once mapped on the National Master Plan (NMP), an optimal solution in terms of alignment to a project will also be obtained.

The infrastructure gaps have been identified under NMP following suggestions from ministries that administer industries like steel, which would benefit from these projects. In total, there are 63 projects, with the Pune-Bengaluru Expressway being the most capital-intensive, costing ₹49,241 crore. The second most valuable project, costing ₹37,987 crore, is the 107-km Delhi-Gurgaon-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror) Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, which is part of the Delhi-Alwar RRTS line. The development of trunk infrastructure components for the 5,796.68-acre Dighi Port Industrial Area, under the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, is the most expensive project of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation that receives NPG endorsement, with a project cost of ₹5,410.04 crore.