Gadkari Announces Rs 40,000 Crore Expressway Project Along Brahmaputra, The First In Northeast India

Union minister of road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced centre’s plan to develop the first expressway in India’s remote northeast. The expressway, to be developed along the Brahmaputra River in Assam, is likely to incur an investment of Rs 40,000 crore .

“Northeast is our priority. We are going to develop the first express highway of North East in Assam along the banks of Brahmaputra. This 1,300 km-long express highway is likely to incur an investment of Rs 40,000 crore,” Times of India quoted Gadkari, who was speaking at the Namami Brahmaputra festival in Guwahati, as saying.

Speaking at the festival, Gadkari also requested Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to complete the process of land acquisition for the construction of the expressway.

“The land acquisition has to be done by the state. The sand and the soil coming from the dredging of Brahmaputra will be utilised for construction of the road,” Gadkari said.

The 1,300km-long expressway will be access controlled and will allow vehicles to move at high speeds, the minister said, adding that the government is also working to dredge the Brahmaputra river from Sadia in Upper Assam to increase navigational channels up to Chittagong port in Bangladesh.

The government will provide funds for the development of 56 jetties on the banks of Brahmaputra and operationalise five more Roll-On and Roll-Off vessels to improve waterway communication in the state.