NHAI to expand NE highways

Build-operate-transfer model to be used to fund the project linking state capitals

The Union ministry of surface transport will link all the state capitals and important towns of North-east with the East-West Corridor Project through four-lane highways constructed on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

The new roads will greatly speed up cargo movement by road within the region and by land to Myanmar and eastern Bangladesh, beside providing much greater security for cargo instead the narrow existing tracks.

The total length of such BOT highways will be around 1246 km and was likely to cost around Rs 5,000 crore.

Being called the third phase of the National Highway Development Programme, the project will be implemented by National Highway Authority of India.

The National Highway Authority of India was at present preparing DPR for the project and simultaneously implementing the first and second phases of National Highway Development Programme in Northeast.

A 731km stretch of the the East-West Corridor Project passes through Assam, linking Porbondar in the west with Silchar in the east.

The project cost for east-west corridor in NE is around Rs 3,000 crore including cost of a third bridge over the Brahmaputra near the existing Saraighat bridge.

The National Highway Authority of India sources told Business Standard that the Union government introduced the third phase in NE to link state capitals not connected by the the East-West Corridor Project.

"Five stretches covering 1246km have been identified for a four-lane highway to be built on BOT basis in NE to link all state capitals not connected to the existing the East-West Corridor Project," sources said.

The original planning of the the East-West Corridor Project which did not connect any of these capitals had been shown to be deeply flawed in retrospect.

One 124km stretch will connect Doboka on the the East-West Corridor Project to Dimapur, Nagaland's commercial capital, as also Kohima, the political capital.

A second 345km road will connect Baihata Chariali in Assam on the East-West Corridor Project to Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh.

Other roads will link Aizwal in Mizoram and Agartala in Tripura to the East-West Corridor Project.

"For four out of five stretches, detailed project report is under preparation and all are under consideration of the public investment board," added sources.

The National Highway Authority of India sources said the DPR for the third bridge over Brahmputra near Guwahati was under way.

"The bridge will be a little downstream of the existing Saraighat bridge, built around 35 years back and will also ease the traffic load on Saraighat," said sources.

The the East-West Corridor Project enters Assam from West Bengal at Srerampur, on the north bank of Brahmaputra.

Delays in land acquisition had hit the East-West Corridor Project, with only 18km between Jalukbari and Khanapara being completed till date.

"The National Highway Authority of India has allotted work without acquiring the land and the Assam government has also been inactive on land acquisition," complained sources close to the project.