Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway


Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway, part of Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor , is an under-construction, six-lane, long greenfield expressway, which will pass through the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in central and east-central India. At present, from Durg, it runs between NH-30 and NH-130C till Borigumma, then runs east of NH-26 till Sunabeda and then west of NH-26 till Visakhapatnam after terminating with NH-16 at Vizianagaram. Along the new route, it will connect Raipur by starting at Abhanpur in Raipur district with the cities of Dhamtari, Kanker, Kondagaon, Koraput, and Sabbavaram before terminating at Visakhapatnam Port.
It will reduce the current travel time and distance, from 13 hours to only 6-7 hours, and from to. It is a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, and it will connect the East Coast Economic Corridor, which runs from Kolkata to Kanyakumari at Vizianagaram. It will be sequentially interconnected with the rest of the country via the national highways NH-30–NH-34–NH-539–NH-44-Yamuna Expressway, thus connecting Raipur and Visakhapatnam directly to central and north Indian cities, such as Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi and Jabalpur.

History

To improve connectivity, tourism, development and economic growth in Central India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways planned to build an expressway from Raipur to Visakhapatnam in 2014. It will reduce both travel time and distance, from 13 hours to only 8-9 hours, and from 595 km to 464 km. It will pass through the regions of Dandakaranya and the Eastern Ghats. Once completed, these regions will see exponential growth with the growth of industries and socio-economic development by promoting employment among people living in the regions, which the regions currently lack altogether. The plan was approved by the Government of India in 2017, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the expressway in November 2022. The project is being built at a cost of ₹ 20,000 crore, and construction is ongoing on most parts of the expressway's route. The expressway is expected to become operational by the 2025.

Route

Chhattisgarh

In Chhattisgarh, it will pass through 4 south-eastern districts at between NH-30 and NH-130C:

Odisha

In Odisha, it will pass through 2 south-western-most districts on eastern and western side of NH-26 in Nabarangpur and Koraput districts, respectively:

Andhra Pradesh

In Andhra Pradesh, it will pass only through one district in northeast Andhra Pradesh, on the western side of NH-26:

Construction

The expressway will be fully six-lane, access-controlled and a greenfield project. It is being built using the Hybrid Annuity Model mode of construction. The land acquisition and the bidding process for the project is fully completed, except three packages in the Odisha section, and construction is ongoing on most of the expressway's route. The Detailed Project Report of the project was made by the South Korean firm, YONGMA Engineering Co. Ltd. – Arkitechno Consultants. The project has been divided into 19 packages. The following table lists the packages, contractors and their statuses.

Benefits

The expressway will benefit Central India along with the entire country as follows:
  • Trade: The expressway has been planned specially to boost exports from Central India, to benefit the mineral-rich states of the western part of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha by boosting exports of goods and minerals, and reducing dependency on imports through the Visakhapatnam Port to countries of East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, i.e., China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, etc., the main countries to where the minerals get exported.
  • Tourism: The expressway will help to facilitate tourism by developing backward and relatively unknown areas in the Dandakaranya and the Eastern Ghats regions, due to the presence of a high level of tourist spots dotted across the three states, also major destinations like Araku Valley, along the expressway's route, and several wildlife parks, sanctuaries including some national parks, such as Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Indravati National Park, Amravati Forest Range, Ambapani Sanctuary, etc.
  • Connectivity: The expressway will not only create a direct route from Raipur to Visakhapatnam, but in the coming years, will also see the entire Central India get connected directly with the rest of the country, through other expressways, even internationally, with Nepal. These links will altogether result in faster, safer and better commute and transportation of goods and people to and from the country.
  • Protection of the Environment: To ensure the protection of the green cover and the environment, as the expressway will pass through the Eastern Ghats, the entire route of it will have plants and trees in between and along its both sides. To avoid noise and light pollution affecting the environment, noise barriers will be installed on both sides, which will block noise, as well as light, on all forest sections of the expressway. Other procedures undertaken are the usage of and the construction of tunnels along hilly sections.
  • Employment: Due to increase in industrial activities along the expressway's route, various agricultural and industrial initiatives to help the state's economy and growth. The establishment of these numerous centres will result in multiple job possibilities for thousands of people living in both the states.

Proposed future connectivity

Following additional connectivity has been proposed by constructing new links with the expressway:

NCR–CMC hubs of Bathinda–Hisar–Jaipur–Gwalior

There is a proposal to link this corridor to north-western India by a combination of constructing greenfield stretches and upgrading existing roads through National Capital Region's Counter Magnet Cities of Bhatinda-Hisar–Jaipur –Gwalior. This requires the construction of a road-cum-rail bridge over the Chambal River between Karauli-Taintara and/or Sirmathura-Joura.

NCR–CMG hubs of Ludhiana–Patiala–Ambala–Narnaul–Alwar

There is another proposal to link this corridor to Trans-Haryana Expressway and beyond to Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway, Delhi–Mumbai Expressway and Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project by a combination of constructing greenfield stretches and upgrading existing roads through Narnaul-Alwar-Karauli-Mohana-Datia. Detailed routes will see the upgrade of existing State Highways to National Highways, such as:Rajasthan SH-14, with whole route between Narnaul and Mathura to be upgraded for economic corridor and the religious Krishna Yatra Circuit.Rajasthan SH-25, Alwar–Rajgarh portion to be upgraded.Dalalpura/Machari to Berkhera-Mahwa, a greenfield alignment, alternatively the longer existing Rajasthan SH-35 Rajgarh-Mahwa portion can be upgraded.Rajasthan SH-22, Mahwa–Hindon–Karauli portion to be upgraded.Chambal River, this requires the construction of a greenfield highway and a road-cum-rail bridge over the river between Karauli–Taintara and/or Sirmathura–Joura with 2 spurs on eastern flank of Chambal - one each to connect to Gwalior and Datia.

Eastern Economic Corridor

There is a proposal to connect it to Eastern Economic Corridor, by constructing either a spur or a loop in Chhattisgarh.

Status updates