Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced that national highway projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore would be taken up in Telangana over the next three to four years.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today announced that national highway projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore would be taken up in Telangana over the next three to four years.
"We have already completed works worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore in Telangana. But this is just the beginning. In the next 3-4 years, we will take up works worth Rs 2 lakh crore," he said, and expressed confidence that these mega projects would significantly transform the State's infrastructure landscape.
Gadkari made these remarks while addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stone and inaugurating national highway projects worth Rs 3,900 crore in Sirpur Kagaznagar, Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.
Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that greenfield expressway projects worth around Rs 1 lakh crore were underway in the State. He said that once completed, these projects would greatly boost Telangana's economy, generate substantial employment for the youth, and improve transport facilities, thanks to benefits such as decongestion, lower travel costs and increased logistics capacity.
The minister said that the Union government was fully committed to Telangana's development. He said that when he took charge as minister in 2014 the length of the national highways in Telangana was 2,511 km, and that it had nearly doubled to 5,000 km since then.
Sharing details of key greenfield expressway projects in the state, Gadkari said the 770-km-long Indore-Hyderabad expressway, costing Rs 17,000 crore, would include 136 km within Telangana. He said that all clearances for the Rs 4,500 crore worth of works in Telangana had been completed, and that the route - passing through Kamareddy, Medak and Sangareddy districts - would be completed by March 2026. The expressway was expected to reduce travel time between Indore and Hyderabad from 20 hours to 10 hours, he said.
He also spoke of the 1,100-km-long Surat-Chennai Expressway, which would pass through Telangana, linking the north and south and fulfilling the vision of a Kashmir-to-Kanyakumari corridor. Scheduled for completion next year, 78 km of this expressway would traverse Telangana, connecting with neighbouring Kurnool, and cut the Surat-Chennai distance by 300 km and reduce travel time from 28 hours to 17 hours, he said.
Gadkari also said that the 221-km-long Suryapet-Devarapalli greenfield expressway - part of the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam corridor - was being built at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore. Of this, 164 km would pass through Suryapet and Khammam districts, reducing travel time between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam from 12 hours to 6 hours, he said.
Referring to the backwardness of Komaram Bheem Asifabad and nearby districts, Gadkari stressed the importance of improving water, electricity, transport and infrastructure to support regional development. He recalled his water conservation efforts in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, and promised to support similar initiatives in Telangana by offering free desilting services to increase dam and water body storage capacity.
To promote sustainability, the Union minister advocated for the use of electric and CNG vehicles over petrol vehicles to protect the environment and lower transportation costs. He said that a shift towards electric mobility would significantly reduce overall transportation expenses.
Union Minister for Coal and Mines Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Telangana Minister for Roads and Buildings Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, and others participated in the event.