CCEA approves Phase I of Bharatmala

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Phase I of the Bharatmala programme. Under the programme, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) plans to start construction works worth Rs 8 trillion by end-2018. Phase I of Bharatmala entails the construction of 50 economic corridors spanning 9,000 km (Rs 1.2 trillion); inter-corridor and feeder routes spanning 6,000 km (Rs 800 billion); national corridors’ efficiency improvement spanning 5,000 km (Rs 1,000 billion); border and international connectivity roads spanning 2,000 km (Rs 250 billion); coastal and port connectivity roads spanning 2,000 km (Rs 200 billion); and expressways spanning 800 km (Rs 400 billion). It also includes the completion of 10,000 km of balance road works under the National Highways Development Programme at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 trillion, taking the total length of works to be undertaken to 34,800 km, at an estimated cost of Rs 5.35 trillion.