Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to upgrade 3,411 km of state highways with a total investment of Rs 2,150 crore over the next three years.
Of the cost, the loan component from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank is Rs 1,565 crore and Rs 585 crore, respectively, Higher Education Minister V S Acharya told reporters after a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda.
“These highways will be taken up to the standards of national highway,” he said. The Cabinet also approved giving contract to Ramky Infrastructure to build a Rs 250 crore Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) at Hebbal here which would house a bus terminus and commercial complex, besides car parking facility.
Ramky would manage the TTMC, which would come up on a nearly eight acre land, for 30 years giving the government an annual revenue Rs 1.56 crore, and thereafter hand it over to it, Acharya said.
The government also decided to allot Rs 25 crore, under the coconut plantations development project, for the benefit of the growers, the Minister said.
This decision by Karnataka comes close on the heels of the Centre set to approve 15 road projects worth Rs 15,680 crore. These projects would be awarded in a month, Road Transport and Highways Secretary A K Upadhyay told reporters.
“Very soon, we would be able to award these projects, in some cases even bids have been invited,” he said, adding that with these awards the ministry would be able to meet its target of awarding 7,300 km of highway projects this year.
During this financial year (2011-12), NHAI has already invited bids for developing 4,653 km of highways and 3,051 km length projects have already been awarded to the successful bidders. The remaining 1,814 km would be awarded in a month''s time.
The government admitted that land acquisition hurdles are delaying some road projects.
"Financial closures for some projects are getting delayed due to land acquisition issues," he added.
However, he said the government would be able to meet its goal of building 20 km of roads per day by 2013-14 even as the current status is 7 km per day.
"At this point in time we are doing 7 km per day, which I think is good and would be (able to) do 20 km per day as envisaged by 2013-14," he further added.
"Because for 20 km per day, we should have at least 21,000 km work in progress," he said.
The ministry in 2009 had set a target of building 20 km of road per day, which translates into 7,300 km per year.
