Friday, May 18, 2007

State prepares road map for WB assistance

The New Indian Express, May 18, 2007

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has sought loan assistance from the World Bank for improvement of some selected roads, where reduced carriage-way widths and pavement deterioration have resulted in capacity constraints for high volume traffic.

The project includes upgrading and widening of about 906 km road through public sector financing and development of 229 km long high- trafficked road through public-private partnership (PPP).

The road corridors to be developed through public sector financing include Jagatpur- Kendrapara-Chandbali-Bhadrak-Anandpur- Karanjia-Jashipur, Berhampur-JK Pur, Kereda-Rayagada-Muniguda- Bhawanipatna-Khariar, Aska- Bhanjanagar, Bhanjanagar-Daspalla and Daspalla-Banharpal.

Official sources said besides the above roads, for which detailed project reports are being drawn up, two more corridors - 199-km Mohana-Chandiput- R Udaygiri-Parlakhemundi-Gunupur-Bangi Road and 32-km Dhamra Port-Digochia Square on Bhadrak-Chandbali road - have been identified for feasibility study for inclusion in the project.

The projects to be undertaken under the PPP mode include the four-laning of Sambalpur-Rourkela (state highway-10) for 165- km stretch, widening of the existing single lane Joda-Bamberi Road (expressway-II) of 18-km stretch to seven-meter carriage-way and widening of the existing single-lane Koira-Tensa- Rajamunda Road.

The road works would be completed within a five year period starting from 2007.

In the first phase, Bhawanipatna-Khariar, Bhadrak-Chandbali, Bhadrak-Anandpur and Berhampur-Taptapani roads would be taken up.

In the first year of implementation of the project in 2007-08, Rs 92.06 crore would be spent while in the second year the expenditure has been pegged at Rs 735.26 crore.

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