The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet to consider upgradation of NHDP-3 next week

THE Union Cabinet will consider next week a proposal for taking up upgradation of a part of the National Highways under the National Highways Development Programme-3 (NHDP-3), according to the Union Minister for Transport and Shipping, Mr T.R. Baalu.

This would be in addition to the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West corridor projects, which are under execution at an estimated cost of Rs 54,000 crore.

Speaking to presspersons here, he said out of the approximately 33-lakh km of various roads — district, panchayat, state, NH etc — in the country, around 65,000 kms have been declared as National Highways, constituting just two per cent of the total road length in the country.

A total stretch of 14,000 km of the National Highways is being upgraded under the Golden Quadrilateral (NHDP-1) and the two corridors (NHDP-2) projects.

He said a new concept — NHDP-3 — under which 10,000 kms of NH would be improved has come up and it would be put before the Cabinet for approval next week. Once it is cleared, of the 65,000 kms of National Highways, only about 41,000 kms would be known as NH.

For converting the two-lane NH of 41,000 km into four-lane roads, an investment of about Rs 60,000 crore would be required. He has also approached the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for assistance to take up the project.

Asked about the bad condition of some of the roads already declared as National Highways in Tamil Nadu, like the NH 67 from Vriddachalam leading to Athur on Salem-Ulundurpet NH, the Minister said this road was declared as NH only recently and said improvement works would be taken up on this road.