The portion of the ongoing National Highways Development Project (NHDP) entailing multi-laning and upgradation of road connectivity to the 10 major ports is in full swing and is scheduled for completion over the next three years.
While the Rs 191 crore project connecting Kandla port to the nearest national highway (NH-8) has already been completed, the other nine port connectivity projects would be executed over the next three years, government officials involved in the exercise said.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has undertaken 12 projects through the special purpose vehicle (SPV) route under the first phase of the Rs 58,000 crore NHDP, with all the port connectivity projects being executed through this route.
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While the 10 port projects, which entails improving the port's connectivity with the nearest national highway, have been undertaken by NHAI in partnership with the respective port trusts, two more sections -- the Ahmedabad-Vadodara section and the Moradabad bypass -- are also being taken up under the SPV route. The first phase of both the non-port sections have also been completed.
In case of the port connectivity projects, the Rs 53 crore project linking Marmugao to NH-17B is expected to be accomplished by September 2003. The Rs 143 crore phase-I of the projects connecting the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to NH-4 is scheduled for completion by April 2004, while the Rs 130 crore phase-II of the project connecting the port to NH-54 is expected to be completed by April 2005.
The Rs 80 crore project connecting Vishakapatnam port to the state road is scheduled for completion in December 2004. All the other seven projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2005.
According to government officials, the improvement in connectivity to ports of the country would remove a major bottleneck in trade and commerce.