CCEA approves highway projects in Mizoram to link Sittwe port

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved certain modifications and additions to Phase A of Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North-East (SARDP-NE), including construction of a highway in Mizoram to provide road linkage to Sittwe port in Myanmar as part of Kaladan Multi-modal transit Transport Project.

The total additional GBS of Rs 1,050 crore for SARDP-NE thus raised the total GBS to Rs 5,873 crore, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, told mediapersons after the meeting of the CCEA.

Alternate highway to Gangtok will fulfil a long pending demand of Sikkim and would enable provision of all weather road connectivity to the State and with realignment to bypass Kaziranga bottleneck in implementation of 4-laning from Nagaon to Dibrugarh would be removed.

The highway to support Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project would facilitate an alternate water-route to serve North Eastern Region, giving boost to the trade of the region.

The following was approved: -- The alternate highway route between Siliguri and Gangtok in lieu of approved proposal of improvement of 80 km length of NH 31 A from Sevoke to Ranipul to 2-lane with paved shoulders under Phase A of SARDP-NE on BOT (Annuity) basis and the alternate highway from Melli to Singtham included in Phase B of SARDP-NE -- Improvement of critical stretches of NH 31 A with additional GBS requirement of Rs 100 crore.

-- Alternate alignment of 4-lane NH 37 to bypass Kariranga, in modification of the already approved proposal of 4-laning of 315 km from Nagaon to Dibrugarh.

-- 2-lane Dibrugarh bypass in lieu of the 4-lane bypass envisaged earlier as part of 4-laning of 315 km length from Nagaon to Dibrugarh, in view of very low projected traffic on the bypass.

Additional Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) to the tune of Rs.100 crore will be required.

-- Expenditure on DPR preparation and pre construction activities for 4-laning of 330 km lengthof NH 44 in Tripura with additional GBS support of Rs 236 crore.

-- Expenditure on preparation of DPRs of Phase B road, with retrospective effect from 22.6.06 additional GBS support of Rs 64 crore.

UNI SBA MP BD1725