Six infrastructure projects worth about ₹52,000 crore, including four from the road transport sector and two from railways, were assessed at the 56th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting under PM Gati Shakti on Wednesday.

“This takes the total number of projects assessed by NPG to 112 with a total value of around ₹11.53 lakh crore, since the launch of PM Gati Shakti,” per a statement issued by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Thursday.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) presented four road projects worth about ₹45,000 crore to NPG and demonstrated adherence to Gati Shakti principles, the statement noted. 

The first project proposal is a greenfield road located in Gujarat and Maharashtra that seeks to benefit the industrial belts in Navsari, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts and the agriculture sector in the region. “Additionally, the project is expected to contribute to overall socio-economic development of tribal districts like Navsari, Valsad and Nashik by providing easy and convenient connectivity. It will also benefit the tourism sector in the region and will also connect aspirational districts, such as Osmanabad,” it said. 

Multi-modality

The second greenfield road project is also located in Gujarat connecting the Amritsar-Jamnagar economic corridor with Ahmedabad and Vadodara. It will integrate with other modes of transportation, contributing to multi-modality in the region, per the statement.

The third road project proposed is located in Bihar and involves construction of four-laning of the Patna- Arrah-Sasaram corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojna. It is expected to bring in socio-economic development in Left-wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts, including tribal areas, the statement noted.

The fourth road project located in Uttar Pradesh is expected to improve the inter-state connectivity among Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Two railway project proposals, with a projected cost of about ₹6,700 crore, were also assessed during the meeting. The first project, a greenfield railway line located in Odisha, passes through the Ganjam, Nayagarh, Khandhamal, Boudh, Sambalpur and Angul districts. It will connect the industrial and mineral clusters of western Odisha with the East Coast port.

The second railway project proposal is located in Kerala and involves doubling of railway lines. The proposed augmentation of infrastructure will improve the quality of rail movement in a highly stressed corridor of the Southern railway and will reduce the travel time, it said. “The importance of embracing PM Gati Shakti guidelines to facilitate the seamless integration of diverse transportation modes and encourage multi-modal connectivity was seen in all the projects considered, with benefits for both economic and social development,” the statement added.