MoRTH approves ₹2,228-cr for NH projects in Goa

The Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has sanctioned ₹2,228 crore for the construction of national highway projects in Goa. State CM Pramod Sawant informed that the projects include a six-lane highway on stilts at Porvorim, a four-lane highway expansion from Navelim to Cuncolim, and another four-lane bypass from Masher to Pollen in Canacona. The Porvorim highway on stilts is a long-awaited project as construction work of highway expansion began in 2016 and is expected to be complete from Patradevi to Karaswada and Verna (including one lane of the new Zuari Bridge) by December 2022. Only a stretch of around 3-km in Porvorim is also to be expanded.

As of now, due to the pending work at Porvorim, traffic movement continues to be affected at the bottleneck between the Sangolda junction and Mall de Goa. In mid-2018, work on the project had commenced, but around 32 owners of houses and commercial establishments approached the Supreme Court, citing faulty land acquisition procedure. Now, a settlement has been reached and officials are targeting December 2025 for completion of the highway on stilts in Porvorim.