Gadkari launches Road projects worth Rs 2,752 cr in Tripura
STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stones of nine National Highway projects with a total length of nearly 262 kms worth over Rs 2752 crore in Tripura today.
The ceremony was performed in the presence of Union DoNER Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and MoS Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh, Members of Parliaments, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State.
Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Gadkari said, nearly 300 km NH length has been added in Tripura in the last six years. Today, there are over 850 kms of NHs in the State. He informed that roads worth Rs 8,000 crore are being constructed in Tripura, and as much as Rs 365 crore have been disbursed towards land acquisition cost in the State between 2015 and 2020. He said, upgradation and development of NHs will improve connectivity to all the districts and major cities.
Gadkari said, very soon two important projects are completing in the State. These are the Feni Bridge and the Udaipur-Agartala road. The 49 km 2-lane with paved shoulder Udaipur-Agartala road worth Rs 750 crore is completing next month. The 1.8 km long Feni Bridge between Sabrum on Indian side and Ramgarh on the Bangladesh side costing Rs 129 crore will be completed by December this year. The bridge is important from social, economic and defence points of view, he said. The distance between Sabrum and Chittagong is 75 kms, and the bridge will ease the transportation of goods from Chittagong and Kolkata ports. An integrated check post is also proposed near Sabrum.
The MoRTH Minister said, construction of the RCC bridge over river Feni will improve connectivity to the international Border with Bangladesh. The 4-lane bypass on western side of Agartala City is under DPR preparation that will further improve the connectivity of NH-8 to NH-108B in the state of Tripura, reduce traffic congestion in Agartala city, and connect Matabari from Airport. The connectivity of Agartala city to Assam Border through NH-108B, 208 & 208A will provide shorter length connectivity. The upgradation work for Agartala to Khowai (NH 108B) and Kailashahar to Assam Border (NH-208A) has already been awarded and upgradation of balance section of Kailashahar to Khowai (NH-208) has been proposed under JICA funding. Bids for this section have already been received and work is likely to be awarded very soon. He added that the 4-laning of NH-08 from Agartala to Churaibari – the lifeline of Tripura – is under DPR preparation, which will provide faster and hassle-free Inter-state connectivity with Assam and other States with Agartala.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for New India, New North East will play an important role, as all the 8 States of the region are witnessing a series of developmental projects in all fields. He said, since 2014 when Narendra Modi came to power, massive steps were taken to bring the North Eastern Region at par with the other regions of the country and added that Centre is committed to develop all the 8 states of the region in tune with the Western States of India.
Dr. Jitendra Singh lauded the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for sanctioning and completing several major infrastructure projects in the North East Region in the last 6 years. He said, as a Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, his Ministry is also chipping in with all available resources to make the N-E Region as a new model of development for the entire country.
Describing Tripura as a Gateway of the “Act East Policy” of the Central Government, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that very soon we are also going to have a train to Bangladesh from Tripura heralding a new chapter and opening new vistas in the development of this region by providing the entire region access to the seaports. He added that this will boost the trade across the borders especially with our eastern neighbours by leaps and bounds.