Government will spend Rs 25,000-cr to construct hilly highways in states bordering with China, Nepal and Pakistan

To construct about 2,000 kilometres of highways in 12 hill states of India, including Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, the Indian government is preparing a project worth Rs 25,000 crores.

As per officials, most of these projects will be awarded as per the government-funded model of engineering, procurement and construction or
EPC. However, a few high traction projects connecting religious places in Himachal and J&K will be taken up in accordance with the newly conceived hybrid annuity model.

"Projects worth Rs 10,000 crore were awarded in hill states last year, only 10% of the total projects awarded in the country. This year, we're focusing more on hill states as they border with China, Nepal and Pakistan, and are of high strategic importance to India," a senior transport ministry official told ET requesting anonymity.

PMO has also asked the road transport and highways ministry to fasten up road development in these states.

Amongst the hilly highways, about 300 km would be in Arunachal Pradesh, 256 km in Mizoram, 250 km each in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, 100 km in Manipur and the remaining would be made in Uttarakhand, Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland and West Bengal.
The newly constituted National Highways and Industrial Development Corporation will be undertaking majority of these highways.

In last fiscal, the ministry has awarded about 10,000 km of highway contracts worth Rs 1 lakh crore, out of which nearly 6,300 km was made at the rate of almost 18 km a day on average. This fiscal, the target is to construct nearly 10,000 km with a pace of 28 km per day on an average.

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