Biju Express Yojana: Odisha to construct 1,000 km roads, 30 bridges

06 Apr 2021 Editorial Team

The Odisha government has announced a target of constructing 1,000 km roads and 30 bridges with a budget of Rs 2,300 crore during the current financial year.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made the announcement while inaugurating a bridge at Aska in the Ganjam district of Odisha through video conference. The bridge has been constructed by replacing two bridges of the British era and will serve as an important link to different parts of the district, said Patnaik.

Patnaik said that the government will also spend about Rs 1,000 crore under Biju Setu Yojana and Rs 2,000 crore on village roads. To enable a focus on road infrastructure, the Patnaik government raised the budget to Rs 2,296 crore for the construction of 1,000 km of roads, including several under the 'Biju Express' scheme which is planned to act as an economic corridor for western Odisha.

Three projects worth Rs 488 crore have been approved in the state. The approved projects include a bypass on NH-59 for Berhampur city, a railway overbridge on Puri-Konark road and five submersible bridges on Malkangiri-Motu NH-326.

While the NH-59 bypass, including four-lane railway overbridges on engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode, has been approved with a budget of Rs 196.94 crore, the railway overbridge at Matiapada on Puri-Konark Road to be built on EPC mode has been approved at a cost of Rs 137.61 crore.

The Malkangiri-Motu NH-326 will see the reconstruction of five submersible bridges at an estimated cost of Rs 154.05 crore. The submersible bridges will replace the high level bridges on the national highway.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently announced that it would sanction projects worth Rs 50,000 crore this quarter.

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