Panaji-Belgaum Highway Project: ₹4000 Crore Plan Announced For Four-Laning Of NH-748A

In a recent announcement, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, revealed plans to four-lane the 52-kilometer Panaji-Belagavi section of NH-748 at an estimated cost of ₹4000 crore. This has raised questions whether this is a new project. However, it must be noted that NH-748 is actually a pre-existing highway that spans from NH-48 near Belagavi to Panaji in Goa, with a section already completed and another ongoing.

Belagavi-Khanapur Section:

• Status: Completed - Toll Active at Ganebail
• Project: 4-laning of Belagavi-Khanapur Section (Km 0.000-Km 30.800) (Design Chainage Km 0.000 to Km 30.000) of NH-4A in Karnataka on Hybrid Annuity Mode (Package I)
• Contractor: M/s Ashoka Concessions Ltd.
• Length: 30 km

Khanapur-Anmod Section:

• Status: Current incomplete section
• Project: 2-laning with paved shoulder from Km 30+800 to Km 70+800 and 2-laning without paved shoulder from Km 70+800 to the Karnataka/Goa border Km 84+120
• Contractor: M/s Dilip Buildcon Ltd.

The 30-kilometer Belagavi-Khanapur section was completed in two stages, with the first phase awarded to M/s Ashoka Concessions Ltd. and the second phase awarded to M/s Dilip Buildcon Ltd.

However, the two lane of NH-4A project faced delays due to a High Court stay obtained by environmentalists in 2019. The Karnataka High Court later vacated the stay in March 2021, stating that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) did not need prior environmental clearance to widen the Belagavi-Goa highway NH-4A. Despite this, Dilip Buildcon withdrew from the project due to losses caused by the court stay and COVID-19 lockdowns.

Currently, the road near Gunji (Khanapur to Ramnagar) is in a dire condition, with about 4 feet of water on the service road due to unfinished bypass work and a 10-20-foot trench with just pillars.

The newly sanctioned ₹4000 crore aims to complete this previously incomplete project, which initially had an estimated value of ₹486.78 crore in 2018.