“All the projects would start within one and a half years,” Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways, said. Earlier, he laid the foundation stone and dedicated seven national highways projects at a function held 40 km away from the state capital. The seven projects measuring 342 kms would be completed with an investment over Rs 3,000 crore.
While addressing a gathering, Gadkari announced that the ministry had approved road projects for the state that would be executed with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore. The projects include 1,285 kms national highways besides 40 bridges on Shivnath and Hasdeo rivers.
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“Of the projects approved, works to the tune of Rs 25,000-crore would be complete in next two years and the target had been set for the same,” Gadkari said. The Narendra Modi government at the Centre was giving top priority to the development works, he added.
Asserting that the Centre had set a target to bring down the number of road accidents to half in the country in next five years, the minister said the widening and upgradation of roads would help in a big way. He referred to the announcement made a day before that the Centre had earmarked Rs 11000 crore to prepare an action plan to improve the road condition at 726 accident prone spots across the country.