Highway to Prosperity: The ₹11,000 Crore Triple-State Expansion

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved three major national highway projects in Gujarat, Telangana, and Maharashtra, with a combined capital outlay of ₹11,079.10 crore.

Gujarat:
The CCEA cleared the four-laning of a 107.67-km stretch of NH-56, covering Dhamasiya–Bitada/Movi (47.46 km) and Nasarpore–Malotha (60.21 km), at a total cost of ₹4,583.64 crore under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). Passing through the Narmada district, the upgraded corridor will enhance connectivity to Dahod, Chhota Udepur, Tapi, and Bharuch. Designed for a speed of 100 km/h with an average travel speed of 70 km/h, the project is expected to reduce travel time from 2.5 hours to 1.5 hours. It is estimated to generate 19.38 lakh man-days of direct employment and 22.82 lakh man-days of indirect employment.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is executing the 175-km Jambugam (Bodeli)–Malotha section of NH-56 in four packages, with work on two adjacent stretches having commenced in November 2025. The completion timeline is two years.

Telangana:
The committee approved the widening of NH-167 from Gudebellur to Mahabubnagar (80.01 km) at a cost of ₹3,175.08 crore under HAM. Part of the Hyderabad–Panaji Economic Corridor, the project includes 36.8 km of bypasses and realignments to decongest the route, which recorded an annual average daily traffic of 17,991 passenger car units in FY 2024–25. The project is projected to create 14.4 lakh direct and 17.9 lakh indirect person-days of employment.

Maharashtra:
The CCEA also sanctioned the rehabilitation and upgradation of the 154.635-km Ghoti–Trimbak (Mokhada)–Jawhar–Manor–Palghar stretch of NH-160A at a cost of ₹3,320.38 crore under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. The route will serve as an alternative freight corridor for industrial traffic from Nashik, easing congestion on NH-848 and NH-60, where traffic volumes currently range between 4,323 and 12,455 passenger car units per day. The project is expected to generate 19.98 lakh direct and 24.86 lakh indirect person-days of employment.

Together, these initiatives are part of the government’s broader push to strengthen national highway infrastructure, improve regional connectivity, and support employment generation across key economic and industrial regions.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.