Centre to invest Rs 50,000 crore for road connectivity in NE

Agartala, Sep 10 (UNI) In a bid to develop road connectivity in the Northeastern region,the Centre has committed investment of Rs 50,000 crore during the 11th five year plan.

Addressing the sectoral session on transport during the conference on ''Northeast India - a Gateway to Southeast Asia'' here yesterday, General Manager of the National Highway Authority of India S K Nirmal said 48,000 km roads at a budget of Rs 22,000 crore under the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) would be implemented in NE in next five years.

Besides different phases of the NHDP, 936 km National Highway would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,000 crore while Asian Development Bank(ADB) would improve 1,300 km roads in five NE states at an estimated cost of USD300 million over the next four years, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Senior Transport Specialist of the ADB at Philippines H Iwasaki underlined that the ADB emphasised on maintenance of roads under its project areas including Northeast India, as it had found maintenance of infrastructure was a major problem across the globe.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Airports Authority of India S Biswas stressed on the recent improvements in air transport facilities in NE and pointed out that the Centre was working on the project of framing regional air link policy for the region.

UNI