Arunachal Pradesh: Centre allocates Rs 2378 crore for construction of Frontier Highway
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itanagar: In a boost to road infra in Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre has allocated an amount of Rs 2378.72 crore to the northeastern state, to construct two sections of the ambitious Frontier Highway (NH-913) with a total length of 93 kilometres, which will be built in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode.
Sharing the information in X, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) Niting Gadkari on Sunday said, "In Arunachal Pradesh, an allocation of Rs 2098.81 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of the Bomdila-Nafra-Lada Section (Package 2, 3) covering 78.3 kilometers and Rs 279.91 crore for the 15.4 kilometers long Lada-Sarli section (Package 7) of NH-913 (Frontier Highway) on EPC mode."
The strategic development of this road aims to enhance connectivity to border areas, fostering socio-economic growth in the region. The Frontier Highway's construction is anticipated to curb migration and facilitate reverse migration towards the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh, the Union Minister posted in the micro blogging site.
Additionally, the advancement of this Frontier Highway segment will establish crucial road infrastructure connecting significant river basins, thereby enabling the development of numerous hydropower projects in the state, he said.
Notably, this predominantly greenfield road will link uninhabited, sparsely populated areas of Upper Arunachal, presenting significant potential for tourism. Furthermore, it is expected to accommodate a substantial increase in traffic due to the anticipated growth in tourism activities, he added.
Earlier on February 6 this year, Gadkari has approved the allocation of Rs 3,890.45 crore for construction of three sections of the NH-913, including Rs 2,248.94 crore for its Lada-Sarli section, Rs 1014.59 crore for the Kharsang-Miao-Vijaynagar-Gandhigram section and Rs 626.92 crore for the Sarli-Huri section of highway. Expressing his delight, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has extended his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gadkari for the development.
Gratitude to Hon Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji and Hon Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri @nitin_gadkari ji for their continued support to ensure last mile connectivity in upper Arunachal Pradesh," Khandu posted in X.
Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju, who represents Western Parliamentary constituency in Arunachal Pradesh, wrote on X, "Another huge amount sanctioned for Frontier Highway- Nafra-Lada-Sarli segments of West Kameng - Bichom - East Kameng & Kurung Kumey Dists. It's one of the most difficult & ambitious Highways granted by PM Narendra Modi ji for Arunachal Pradesh. My dream is becoming a reality!"
The Arunachal Frontier Highway (AFH) connecting Bomdila in northwest to Vijaynagar in southeast of the state includes, 800 km greenfield section and network of new tunnels & bridges, is a 2-lane paved-shoulder under-construction national highway along the McMahon Line.
The 1,748 km-long highway, to be constructed in nine packages, itself will cost ?27,000 crore and total cost including six additional inter-corridors will be Rs 40,000 crore.
In some places, the highway will run as close as 20 km from the LAC. The highway in the north and east Arunachal along the China border, would complement the Trans-Arunachal Highway and the Arunachal East-West Corridor, as major highways spanning the whole state, pursuing the Look East connectivity policy.
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