The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the upgradation and widening of two sections of NH-347B in Madhya Pradesh under the Hybrid Annuity Mode at a cost of ₹4,415.60 crore.
The project covers a total length of 233.653 Km. It includes the upgradation of the existing intermediate lane to 2-lane with paved shoulder standard on the 125.01 Km Hiwarkhedi-Roshni-Ashapur-Rudhy section and widening of the existing 2-lane road to 4-lane on the 108.643 Km Deshgaon-Julwaniya section.
The project will address severe geometric deficiencies, sharp curves and congestion in built-up areas across Betul, Khandwa, Khargone and Barwani districts.
An extended greenfield bypass of 16.20 Km will also be developed in Khargone district as part of the project.
According to the Cabinet release, the project is expected to increase average travel speeds, reduce travel time and improve road safety, fuel efficiency and vehicle operating costs.
The upgraded corridor will strengthen regional mobility and support socio-economic development across the Betul-Khandwa-Vadodara corridor.
The project will provide connectivity to key economic, social and logistics nodes across Madhya Pradesh.
It will connect six PM GatiShakti economic nodes, including one textile cluster, two mega food parks, one industrial park and two super thermal power plants.
It will also connect five social nodes, including two aspirational districts, Khandwa and Barwani, and three tribal districts, Betul, Khandwa and Khargone.
The corridor will also connect five logistics nodes, including two major railway stations, two airports and one multi-modal logistics park.
As per the project details, the corridor will connect the airports at Indore and Nagpur, railway stations at Betul and Khandwa and the Multi-Modal Logistics Park at Indore.
The project will also improve connectivity to major cities and towns, including Betul, Khandwa, Khargone and Barwani.
The total civil cost of the project is ₹2,705.08 crore, while land acquisition cost is ₹432.77 crore.
The project is expected to generate 19.50 lakh person-days of direct employment and 23.00 lakh person-days of indirect employment.
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