New Delhi: The Bharatmala project, under which the government is planning to lay down 34,800 Km of national highway (NH) at an estimated cost of Rs 5,35,000 crore, is expected to generate about 14.2 crore man–days of employment, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
In a written response submitted in the Rajya Sabha, Gadkari said, "In Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, development of Border & International Connectivity roads for a length of 2,000 km has also been envisaged with outlay of Rs 25,000 crore. Along Indo-Nepal Border, the project, i.e. balance work of Piprakothi-Motihari-Raxaul on NH-28A of about 69 km length and civil cost of approximately Rs 334 crore, has been awarded in December 2018 and commenced in February 2019 with scheduled completion period of 12 months."
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed over a period of five years.
The responsibility of awarding contracts for the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) rests with a PSU that was founded only in 2014 — National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) — under the purview of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The company has been tasked with developing 10,000 Km of roads in the country.