Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway (NH-130CD), part of Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor (EC-15), is an under-construction, six-lane, 464 km (288 mi) long access-controlled greenfield expressway, which will pass through the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in central and east-central India. At present, from Durg, it runs between NH-30 and NH-130C till Boriguma, then runs east of NH-26 till Sunabeda and then west of NH-26 till Visakhapatnam after terminating with NH-16 (Golden Quadrilateral) at Vizianagaram. Along the new route, it will connect Raipur by starting at Abhanpur in Raipur district with the cities of Dhamtari, Kanker, Kondagaon, Koraput, and Sabbavaram before terminating at Visakhapatnam Port.

It will reduce the current travel time and distance, from 13 hours to only 8-9 hours, and from 595 km (370 mi) to 464 km (288 mi). It is a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, and it will connect the East Coast Economic Corridor, which runs from Kolkata to Kanyakumari at Vizianagaram. It will be sequentially interconnected with the rest of the country via the national highways NH-30-NH-34-NH-539-NH-44-Yamuna Expressway, thus connecting Raipur and Visakhapatnam directly to central and north Indian cities, such as Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi and Jabalpur.^[2]

History

To improve connectivity, tourism, development and economic growth in Central India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) planned to build an expressway from Raipur to Visakhapatnam in 2014. It will reduce both travel time and distance, from 13 hours to only 8-9 hours, and from 595 km to 464 km. It will pass through the regions of Dandakaranya and the Eastern Ghats. Once completed, these regions will see exponential growth with the growth of industries and socio-economic development by promoting employment among people living in the regions, which the regions currently lack altogether. The plan was approved by the Government of India in 2017, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the expressway in November 2022. The project is being built at a cost of ₹ 20,000 crore, and construction is ongoing on most parts of the expressway's route. The expressway is expected to become operational by the end of 2024.^[3][4]

Route

Construction

The expressway will be fully six-lane, access-controlled and a greenfield project. It is being built using the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) mode of construction. The land acquisition and the bidding process for the project is fully completed, except three packages in the Odisha section, and construction is ongoing on most of the expressway's route. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project was made by the South Korean firm, YONGMA Engineering Co. Ltd. – Arkitechno Consultants. The project has been divided into 19 packages. The following table lists the packages, contractors and their statuses.

Benefits

The expressway will benefit Central India along with the entire country as follows:^[5]

• Trade: The expressway has been planned specially to boost exports from Central India, to benefit the mineral-rich states of the western part of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha by boosting exports of goods and minerals, and reducing dependency on imports through the Visakhapatnam Port to countries of East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, i.e., China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, etc., the main countries to where the minerals get exported.
• Tourism: The expressway will help to facilitate tourism by developing backward and relatively unknown areas in the Dandakaranya and the Eastern Ghats regions, due to the presence of a high level of tourist spots dotted across the three states, also major destinations like Araku Valley, along the expressway's route, and several wildlife parks, sanctuaries including some national parks, such as Sitanadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Indravati National Park, Amravati Forest Range, Ambapani Sanctuary, etc.
• Connectivity: The expressway will not only create a direct route from Raipur to Visakhapatnam, but in the coming years, will also see the entire Central India get connected directly with the rest of the country, through other expressways, even internationally, with Nepal. These links will altogether result in faster, safer and better commute and transportation of goods and people to and from the country.
• Protection of the Environment: To ensure the protection of the green cover and the environment, as the expressway will pass through the Eastern Ghats, the entire route of it will have plants and trees in between and along its both sides. To avoid noise and light pollution affecting the environment, noise barriers will be installed on both sides, which will block noise, as well as light, on all forest sections of the expressway. Other procedures undertaken are the usage of sustainable construction methods and the construction of tunnels along hilly sections.
• Employment: Due to increase in industrial activities along the expressway's route, various agricultural and industrial initiatives to help the state's economy and growth. The establishment of these numerous centres will result in multiple job possibilities for thousands of people living in both the states.

Proposed future connectivity

Following additional connectivity has been proposed by constructing new links with the expressway:

Status updates

• 2014: The expressway's plan was launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to the Government of India.^[6]
• 2017: The project was added by the Government of India to the Bharatmala Pariyojana's Phase-I.^[7]
• August 2020: The expressway's completion date was set to March 2024.^[8]
• March 2021: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) was completed.^[9]
• April 2021: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) launched tenders for the project.^[10]
• September 2021: The NHAI issued tenders for two 5 km-long tunnels through the Eastern Ghats section.^[11]
• November 2022: The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for the start if the project's construction.^[12]
• January 2023: Construction began on a 2.8 km-long tunnel in a valley area of the Chhattisgarh section.^[13]

See also

• Expressways in Chattisgarh
• Expressways of India
• Industrial corridor
• Eastern Economic Corridor (India)
• East Coast Economic Corridor

Notes

References

External links

• The definition and importance of Sustainable Construction