Government Gears up to Upgrade 25,000 km of Highways at ₹10 Lakh Crore

“To prevent accidents, improve road safety, and take the upgrade plan ahead,” the Indian government has announced its much-awaited and ambitious plan to widen over 25,000 km of two-lane highways to four-lane roads with an investment of a whopping 10 lakh crores.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced the initiative in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, highlighting an updated infrastructure is the need of the hour. At an estimated cost of ₹6 lakh crore, the government will also widen 16,000 km of national highway to six lanes.

Attention is also being given to improving road connectivity in tough terrains including Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern states and the hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. There are highway projects worth ₹2 lakh crore underway in Jammu and Kashmir alone. Which also includes the construction of 105 tunnels for better all-weather connectivity in the region.

An example of this is the Zojila tunnel, the longest in Asia in a sub-zero temperature zone. Originally estimated to cost over ₹12,000 crore, the cost has been slashed to about ₹5,500 crore. The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh, both on the transportation and strategic levels.

The government hopes these large exercise infrastructure improvements will help increase economic growth and improve travel efficiency and safety over India’s road network.