New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the construction of six-lane, access-controlled Capital Region Ring Road (Bhubaneswar Bypass at 110.875 km length) in Odisha on hybrid annuity mode (HAM) at a total cost of Rs 8,307.74 crore.

The project alignment integrates with three major National Highways (NH-55, NH-57 and NH-655) and one State Highway (SH-65), providing seamless connectivity to key economic, social, and logistics nodes across Odisha.

The project will generate approximately 74.43 lakh person-days of direct and 93.04 lakh person-days of indirect employment, and will open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in surrounding regions.

Additionally, the upgraded corridor will enhance multi-modal integration by connecting with 10 Economic Nodes, 04 Social Nodes and 05 Logistic Nodes, providing enhanced multimodality with 1 Major Railway Station, 1 Airport, 1 proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP), and 2 major Ports thereby facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers across the region, said an official statement.

Currently, connectivity between Rameshwar to Tangi on existing National Highway experience significant congestion due to high traffic volumes, passing through highly urbanized cities Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

To address these challenges, the project is proposed to be developed as 6-lane access-controlled Greenfield Highway.

The project will provide significant benefit to Odisha and other eastern States by diverting heavy commercial traffic away from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khordha Cities. This will enhance the efficiency of freight movement, reducing logistics cost and driving socio-economic growth in the region.

“Upon completion, the bypass will play a pivotal role in regional economic growth, strengthening connectivity between major religious and economic centres and opening new avenues for trade and industrial development,” according to the Cabinet.

–IANS

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