The government on Wednesday approved Rs 22,864 crore greenfield high speed corridor that will connect Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam.
The 166.9 km highway will be built in the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) and approval for it came in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Of the total length of the project, 144.8 km will lie in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam. The project will be completed in the next three years.
“The corridor will improve connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya and will spur economic development, including development of industries in Meghalaya, as it passes through cement and coal production areas of Meghalaya,” a statement issued after the CCEA meeting said..
The project alignment integrates with major transport corridors, including NH-27, NH-106, NH-206, NH-37 providing seamless connectivity to Guwahati, Shillong, Silchar, Diengpasoh, Ummulong, Phramer, Khlieriat, Ratachera, Umkiang, Kalain, the statement added.
In HAM the private developer builds the highway. For construction the government provides 40% of the cost of the project and 60% has to come from the developer. The toll of the highway is collected by the government while the private developer gets fixed annuity payments for 15 years to help him recover the costs.
In the third term the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has approved highway and road projects costing over Rs 1.58 lakh crore. The approved projects include 8 National High Speed Road projects of 936 km length, PM Gram Sadak Yojana and roads in border area of Punjab and Rajasthan, six lane highway connecting JNPT, four lane Patna Arrah Sasaram Corridor, six lane Zirakpur bypass and four lane Shillong Silchar corridor.