Govt’s Vision ‘47 set to target 50,000km of expressways

livemint.com:

Mint broke the story in October on the government’s plan to prematurely exit the Bharatamala highway programme conceived six years ago, and start building largely access-controlled highways in the country. The development of expressways was critical for the next phase of infrastructure development, as it would lead to faster travel, reduce fuel consumption and help lower logistics cost, Jain said, briefing media persons about the achievements of the ministry in 2023. The government finalized the Bharatmala Pariyojana in 2017, with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approving the phase 1 of the programme the same year.

The programme was divided into two phases. The first phase aimed to construct 34,800km of highways that would link several of the existing road infrastructure while providing better connectivity to various industrial corridors. The approval for phase 2 of the programme involving construction of over 5,000km of access-controlled highways with a total investment of about ₹3 trillion was expected in 2023, as the ministry had finalized a note for the cabinet for a quick approval.

It is now expected that all pending Bharatamala projects would be withdrawn, and a fresh cabinet note would be moved on the Vision 2047 plan with the identification of new road alignments and completion of detailed project reports (DPRs) for greenfield projects. The new plan would also incorporate elements of the Bharatmala programme that also focused on building a network of expressways across the country. Under Bharatmala phase I, contracts for 27,384km roads have been awarded so far.