NPG Evaluates Key Infrastructure Projects to Boost Connectivity and Logistics

Recently, the 88th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under the PM GatiShakti initiative was held under the chairmanship of Shri E. Srinivas, Joint Secretary, DPIIT. The grouping examined 11 significant infrastructure projects across sectors including roads, railways, information technology and metro networks. The projects are in pursuance of the vision of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to improve multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency in the country.

Key Road Projects

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) submitted seven road projects for appraisal:

Kishanganj Bahadurganj Highway, Bihar: A 23.6 km greenfield 4-lane road to connect NH-27 and NH-327E to facilitate reduced congestion and greater flow of trade across the Bihar and West Bengal border.

Hyderabad Regional Ring Road (RRR), Telangana: 158.6 km 4-lane expressway – Girmapur – Gollakhal – Chevella Almasguda – Yadadri – Choutuppal NH-65 – under General Satish Dhawan National Award over outstanding longest national highway for Hyderabad, aiming to improve accessibility to regional employment sectors, such as SEZs, mega food parks and pharma clusters under Bharatmala Pariyojana.

Construction of 106.9 km of a 4-lane access-controlled highway under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I on the Sirhind-Sehna Section, Punjab to decongest urban routes and connect major expressways.

Visakhapatnam Port Road, Andhra Pradesh: 12.6 km long 6 Lanes corridor to facilitate smooth movement of port-bound traffic and decongest NH-16.

Jaipur Northern Ring Road, Rajasthan: Greenfield project to bypass heavy traffic from NH-48 and NH-52, relieving congestion around Jaipur.

Limbdi-Dhrangadhra Highway, Gujarat: A 62.8 km 2-lane upgrade improving the connectivity between Saurashtra and Kachchh regions.

Zirakpur Bypass, Punjab-Haryana: 19.2 KM 6-lane bypass with three-tier interchanges to ease the traffic in Zirakpur and Panchkula.

Railway Expansion Projects

Two rail projects that came up:

Bhagalpur-Jamalpur Line, BiharA broad-gauge line with a length of 52.8 km to enhance rail connectivity and decongest the Bhagalpur and Munger districts.

Maharashtra Aurangabad-Parbhani Line: This 177.3 km doubling project is expected to decongest the Vijayawada-Balharshah and Secunderabad-Mumbai corridors helping trade and tourism.

IT and Metro Initiatives

Narrowing the digital divide in India: What are the key reasons behind choosing this project?

Metro corridor of 7.6 km around the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) to enhance urban mobility & reduce emissions through traffic along the GIFT City Metro, Gujarat

It is also expected that all these projects will encourage economic activity and improve logistics efficiency in the country will promote multimodal integration and last-mile connectivity in the country.