Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 14 March, performed the Bhoomi Poojan for the Shillong-Silchar Corridor during his visit to Silchar in Assam.
The project is the first access-controlled Greenfield four-lane High-Speed Corridor in North-East India.
The Shillong-Silchar project involves the construction of a 166.80 Km access-controlled four-lane Greenfield highway along National Highway-6, stretching from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong in Meghalaya to Panchgram near Silchar in Assam.
The project has a total capital cost of ₹22,864 crore and will be implemented under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).
Of the total corridor length, about 144.80 Km lies in Meghalaya while the remaining 22 Km falls within Assam.
Once completed, the corridor is expected to significantly improve connectivity between Meghalaya and Assam and reduce the travel time between Guwahati and Silchar from around 8.5 hours to approximately 5 hours.
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The highway is expected to improve connectivity between major regional centres including Guwahati, Shillong and Silchar while linking several towns such as Diengpasoh, Ummulong, Phramer, Khlieriat, Ratachera, Umkiang and Kalain.
The project alignment will integrate with major road corridors including NH-27, NH-106, NH-206 and NH-37, enabling smoother movement of passenger and freight traffic across the North-East.
By improving transport infrastructure between the Brahmaputra Valley and Barak Valley regions, the corridor is expected to strengthen logistics efficiency and support economic activity across Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
The project also passes through cement and coal production regions in Meghalaya and is expected to support industrial activity and tourism in the region by improving connectivity to Guwahati Airport, Shillong Airport and Silchar Airport.
According to project estimates, the construction phase is expected to generate around 74 lakh direct man-days and about 93 lakh indirect man-days of employment.
The corridor forms part of the broader infrastructure development push aligned with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan aimed at improving multi-modal connectivity and accelerating economic development in the North-East.
