The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a six-lane access-controlled Capital Region Ring Road around Bhubaneswar.

The 110.875 km project, to be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, involves an investment of Rs 83.07 billion. It is designed to decongest the existing Rameshwar–Tangi stretch, which currently faces heavy traffic through Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

According to the official statement, the corridor will divert commercial vehicles away from city limits, enabling smoother freight movement, reducing logistics costs, and supporting socio-economic growth across Odisha and adjoining eastern states.

The alignment will integrate with NH-55, NH-57, NH-655 and State Highway 65, while also strengthening multi-modal connectivity with Bhubaneswar airport, one major railway station, two ports at Puri and Astrang, and a proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park.

The project will link 10 economic clusters including a Special Economic Zone, a mega food park, textile and pharmaceutical hubs, and a fishing cluster. It will also connect four social nodes and five logistics hubs, boosting industrial corridors and improving access to aspirational and tribal districts.

Construction is expected to generate nearly 74.43 lakh person-days of direct employment and 93.04 lakh person-days of indirect employment. With traffic estimated at 28,282 passenger car units per day by FY25, the new ring road is set to emerge as a critical economic lifeline for the region.

News source: Swarajya Marg