New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved the construction of a 135.87-km four-lane access-controlled Guwahati-Tezpur corridor on National Highway-15 in Assam at an estimated cost of Rs 8,970.20 crore.
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The project, to be developed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll mode as part of the National Highways (Original) programme, will cover the stretch from Baihata Chariali near Guwahati to Tezpur, excluding the 15.11-km Mangaldoi Bypass.
According to the government, the project includes the construction of a 4.9-km Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) on the Tezpur Bypass, developed in coordination with the Indian Air Force. The corridor is expected to decongest the existing NH-27 (East-West Corridor) on the southern side of the Brahmaputra River.
The project also envisages the construction of five major bypasses spanning 58.7 km, easing traffic congestion in densely populated areas including Baihata Chariali, Sipajhar, Kharupetia, Dekiajuli and Tezpur.
The highway will feature 15 major bridges, 30 minor bridges, 19 flyovers, one elephant underpass on the Tezpur Bypass, 46 underpasses, and approximately 210 km of service roads to facilitate local traffic movement along the access-controlled corridor.
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The government said the upgraded corridor is expected to double average travel speeds, reduce travel time by around 50 percent, improve road safety, enhance fuel efficiency and lower vehicle operating costs, contributing to improved regional mobility and socio-economic development.
The project is also expected to strengthen connectivity across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by linking key industrial, tourism, logistics and social infrastructure. It will provide improved access to eight PM Gati Shakti economic nodes (industrial parks), two aspirational districts (Darrang and Udalguri), three major tourist destinations (Maa Kamakhya Temple, Kaziranga National Park and Orang National Park), and seven logistics hubs, including three major railway stations, two airports and two inland waterway terminals.
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