Bhubaneswar: The proposed construction of the New Region Ring Road (RRR) in Odisha has been evaluated and given the nod under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. This initiative, part of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), aims to streamline freight movement between Chennai and Kolkata, providing essential multimodal connectivity to economic and logistics nodes.
The New Region Ring Road project is designed to bypass major towns in Odisha, strategically avoiding traffic congestion within cities. By doing so, the project aims to boost logistics efficiency and reduce travel time by an impressive 37.5%. This development comes as part of the broader PM GatiShakti initiative, aligning with the government’s vision for seamless and efficient transportation networks.
The evaluation and approval of the project took place during the 64th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) on January 23. Chaired by Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary of Logistics at the Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management (IRIFM) in Secunderabad, the meeting saw active participation from key infrastructure ministries and departments. These included the Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Ministry of Railways (MoR), Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Power (MoP), Ministry of Defence (MoD), NITI Aayog, and representatives from South Central Railway (SCR).
The NPG meeting covered discussions on three proposed Greenfield projects by the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with a combined project cost of approximately Rs 9600 Cr. Notable projects included the proposed New BG line between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the proposed four-laning of NH-727 in Uttar Pradesh.
Emphasizing the crucial role of rail infrastructure in sustaining India’s economic growth to INR 5 Trillion and meeting the logistics market’s projected growth of 8464 million metric tonnes by 2031, the meeting highlighted the significance of these strategic developments in the country’s overall infrastructure landscape.
