Centre sanctions Rs. 6,300 cr worth 6-lane beach corridor in AP
It is proposed from Visakhapatnam to connect Bhogapuram where an international airport is being developed by the GMR Group
image for illustrative purpose
• Centre promises Multi-Modal Logistics Hub in Visakhapatnam and Anantapur
• All the ports will have four-lane National Highway connectivity
• 100 km greenfield expressway in AP at Rs 4,500 cr
Visakhapatnam: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday promised whole-hearted support to Andhra Pradesh in its march towards accelerated industrialisation and announced sanction of a six-lane beach corridor at a cost of Rs 6300 crore.
The corridor is proposed from Visakhapatnam to connect Bhogapuram where an international airport is being developed by the GMR Group.
Conceding the request of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on the first day of Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) here, promised to sanction Multi-Modal Logistics Hub in Visakhapatnam and Anantapur once the State Government handed over the land required for it.
Gadkari said all the ports in the country including Krishnapatnam, Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram and the proposed Kakinada gateway, Bhavanapadu, Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam will have four-lane National Highway connectivity to give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call to drastically reduce the logistics cost.
Praising the high pace of development in the State under the leadership of Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said, AP is endowed with a magnificent 974-km long coastline. He said the Government of India is committed to render full support to the State. `
“The PM is to make the Indian economy a USD 5 trillion economy and that is only possible with the development of the States. The basic mission behind this spirit which we have is Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Prayas and anywhere the most important thing is we need industries. Without industry we do not have capital investment with which we can create jobs and remove poverty.”
He said six ports in the State have a cargo handling capacity of 240 million tonnes and another four are being taken up. “I am going to declare that all the ports are either major ports, State ports or private ports, my ministry has decided to connect them with the four-lane National Highway. We are aware that port-led industrial corridors will fuel rapid growth,” he stated.
He said the Government of India is developing greenfield expressways to spur industrialisation. Five greenfield expressways are being taken up with a length of 662 km involving an investment of Rs 30,000 crore. Visakhapatnam-Raipur (Chattisgarh) Economic Corridor over a stretch of 465 km will be completed by 2024-end. He said AP will have a stretch of 100 km envisaging an investment of Rs 4,500 crore. This facilitates faster evacuation of cargo and promotes export import business as well as travel by passengers from Visakhapatnam to Raipur via Jeypore and other areas of Odisha. The travel time will be five and half hours by car. For trucks it may take eight to nine hours.
