Cabinet nod for construction of Guwahati ring road to facilitate unhindered access to NE

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 2, 2024

Union Cabinet on Friday approved the construction of the 4-lane North Guwahati Bypass and the widening/improvement of the existing Guwahati bypass at a total capital cost of Rs 5,729 crore.

The 121-km Guwahati Ring Road will be developed in Build Operate Toll (BOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs 5,729 crore in three sections viz., 4-lane Access-Controlled North Guwahati Bypass (56 km), widening of the existing 4-lane bypass on NH 27 to 6 lanes (8 km), and improvement of the existing bypass on NH 27 (58 km).

A major bridge over the Brahmaputra will also be constructed as a part of the project.

The Guwahati Ring Road will provide seamless connectivity to long-distance traffic plying on National Highway 27 (the East-West Corridor), which is the gateway to the Northeast.

The Ring Road will ease congestion on major National Highways around Guwahati, connecting major cities/ towns in the region – Siliguri, Silchar, Shillong, Jorhat, Tezpur, Jogigopha, and Barpeta.

The Ministry of Road transport and Highways (MoRTH) has entrusted the construction of the Guwahati Ring Road to the NHAI, which divided the road project into three stretches after a long-drawn survey.

Since the proposed Ring Road is a crucial infrastructure project for the entire state, the Assam government has agreed to exempt the reimbursement of the state share of GST and forest royalty.

After the completion of the Guwahati Ring Road, traffic congestion in Guwahati will ease. Besides, people bound for upper Assam from the North Bank of the Brahmaputra, like Rangia, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, etc., can bypass Guwahati city. They can follow the proposed four-lane route from Baihata Chariali via Kurua to Sonapur.

The Union Cabinet approved 8 important National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects of length 936 km at a total capital cost of Rs 50,655 crore to improve logistics efficiency, reduce congestion and enhance connectivity across the country.

Seven other projects approved by the Cabinet are- 6-lane Agra – Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor, 4-lane Kharagpur – Moregram National High-Speed Corridor, 6-lane Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor, 4-lane Ayodhya Ring Road, 4-Lane Section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National High­speed Corridor, 6-Lane Kanpur Ring Road and 8-Lane Elevated Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune.