___________

Following is from a Business Standard article by Jayajit Das.

“We had submitted a Rs 1,200-crore connectivity plan for minor ports to the Government of India. In response, they have roped in a Gurgaon-based consultant- Louis Burger Consulting Pvt Ltd and they have already started the feasibility study. In 3-4 months, the consultant will be submitting its report to the Central government after which we can expect flow of funds”, a top official source told Business Standard.

It may be noted that there would be a major focus on road connectivity to major ports and airports in the country in the 12th Plan.

A Planning Commission Working Group on Central Roads Sector has demanded special package for this so that it is implemented on priority basis, separating it from overall National Highway planning.

While two-lane connectivity for 50 minor ports have been envisaged at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, the cost of constructing roads to connect 24 airports has been estimated at Rs 1,800 crore. The proposal has been approved by the Steering Committee on Transport Sector for the 12th Plan held under the Chairmanship of Plan Panel Member BK Chaturvedi.

Earlier, the Orissa government which has identified 14 potential sites for the development of minor ports had requested the Government of India to formulate a policy to provide rail and road connectivity to these ports from the national network on the lines of major ports.

The Union ministry of shipping and highways is understood to offer 50 per cent funding for road and rail connectivity for these upcoming ports.

…

The state has witnessed grounding of investment of Rs 4,262.44 crore from non-major ports in the past 10 years.

The investments have come from four minor port developers- Dhamara Port Company Ltd (DPCL), Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL), Creative Port Development Ltd and Navayug Engineering Ltd from 2002-03 up to the end of September last year.

The various phases of NHDP and their meaning, as obtained from wikipedia,  is as follows:

Phase I: The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ; 5,846 km) connecting the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

* In Odisha: Part of the GQ connecting Kolkata to Chennai.

Phase II: North-South and East-West corridors comprising national highways connecting four extreme points of the country. The North-South and East-West Corridor (NS-EW; 7,300 km) connecting Srinagar in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, including spur from Salem to Kanyakumari (Via Coimbatore and Kochi) and Silchar in the east to Porbandar in the west.

* In Odisha None

Phase III: The government recently approved NHDP-III to upgrade 12,109 km (7,524 mi)of national highways on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, which takes into account high-density traffic, connectivity of state capitals via NHDP Phase I and II, and connectivity to centres of economic importance. contracts have been awarded for a 2,075 km (1,289 mi).

* In Odisha (From http://www.nhai.org/nhdpphase3.asp.)

• Panikholi-Keonjhar- Rimoli, NH 215, 106kms
• Duburi – Talcher, NH 200, 98kms
• Bhubneshwar-Puri(Approved Length 59 Km) 203 67
• Chandikhole-Duburi 200 39
• Rimoli – Roxy – Rajamunda(Approved Length 163Km) 215 96
• Sambalpur-Baragarh-Chattisgarh/Orrisa Border 6 88 Balance for award

Phase IV: The government is considering widening 20,000 km (12,000 mi) of highway that were not part of Phase I, II, or III. Phase IV will convert existing single lane highways into two lanes with paved shoulders. The plan will soon be presented to the government for approval.

* In Odisha (From http://www.nhai.org/ppp.htm.)

• Birmitrapur-Barkote 23 Orissa 128 778.15 IV Aug’11
• Angul-Sambalpur 42 Orissa 153 1220.32 IV Aug’11
• Cuttak-Angul 42 Orissa 112 1123.69 IV Sep’11  [4 laning approved by finance ministry panel, Sept 2011]

Phase V: As road traffic increases over time, a number of four lane highways will need to be upgraded/expanded to six lanes. The current plan calls for upgrade of about 5,000 km (3,100 mi) of four-lane roads, although the government has not yet identified the stretches.

* In Odisha (From http://www.nhai.org/nhdpphase5.asp.)

• Six Laning of Chandikhol-Jagatpur-Bhubaneswar(Approved Length 61 Km) 5 67
• Dhankuni-Balasore (Orissa portion Balasore – Laxmannath) 2 , 6& 60 235.68
• Bhubneshwar-Ichchapuram 5 164.33
• Balasore –Chandikhol 5 138.14

Phase VI: The government is working on constructing expressways that would connect major commercial and industrial townships. It has already identified 400 km (250 mi) of Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Mumbai section that would connect to the existing Vadodara (earlier Baroda)-Ahmedabad section. The World Bank is studying this project. The project will be funded on BOT basis. The 334 km (208 mi) Expressway between Chennai—Bangalore and 277 km (172 mi) Expressway between Kolkata—Dhanbad has been identified and feasibility study and DPR contract has been awarded by NHAI.

* In Odisha: None yet.

Phase VII: This phase calls for improvements to city road networks by adding ring roads to enable easier connectivity with national highways to important cities. In addition, improvements will be made to stretches of national highways that require additional flyovers and bypasses given population and housing growth along the highways and increasing traffic. The government has not yet identified a firm investment plan for this phase.

* In Odisha: None yet.

In addition to the above some of the other major highway development activities are:

• Sambalpur-Rourkela (SH-10) : Widening from two lane to Four Lane Divided Carriage Way – Flexible Pavement with Hard Shoulder. This is being done via PPP by the state.
• Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR): New Construction for     4-lane bituminous road in phases with 2-lane road in Phase-1. This is to be done via PPP by the state.
• Bhubaneswar-Paradeep: New Construction for  4-lane bituminous road. Possibly as part of the Paradeep PCPIR.
• Green Field Coastal Corridor from Astarang to Dhamara via Paradeep:  Possibly as part of the Paradeep PCPIR.
• Vijaywada – Ranch highway: Got approval of Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in October 2010 for a total budget of 1200 crores. The detailed route and map is at http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/1247. The path is Motu – Malkangiri – Jeypore – Koraput – Laxmipur – Rayagada – Digapahandi – Aska – Bhanjanagar – Sankarkhol – Phulbani – Boudha – Kiakata – Rairakhol – Nakti Deol – Chhendipada – Deogarh – Keonjhar – Dhenkikote – Tongabilla – Rairangpur – Jharkhand border

The following annotated map shows the above highways on the Odisha map.

The blue path is the divided 2 lane Vijaywada-Ranchi highway; the red one, already a 4-lane highway as part of the Golden Quadrilateral will become a 6-lane highway; and the orange (state/PPP funded) and pink (part of NHDP) ones will be 4-lane highways. I believe soon the remaining parts of NH 5 (for port connectivity to ports in Balasore district) and NH 6  (as it connects Mumbai-Kolkata) will also become 4-lane highways and all the new ports coming up will be connected to the GQ by 4-lane highways.

The concern is the bottom half of Odisha which will not have good roads except the Vijaywada-Ranchi highway. Unless particular attention is paid to that part, it will fall further behind.

The expressway plan at http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/topics/tnc-all/roads-and-highways-infrastructure-in-orissa/expressways does cover all of Odisha in phases. If parts of it can be expedited then it will help.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Centre would provide Rs716 crore under ‘Viability Gap Funding’ for infrastructure development of the PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region) hub to be set up at Paradip in Orissa.

“The Centre would provide this money in two phases. While Rs388 crore would come in the first phase of the project, the balance Rs328 crore would be provided by the Government of India in the second phase”, an official source told Business Standard.

The funds to be provided by the Centre under ‘Viability Gap Funding’, will be utilized for various infrastructure projects of the PCPI hub like six-laning of NH-5 (A), building a greenfield coastal corridor, construction of all-new greenfield road from Bhubaneswar to Paradip \and upgradation of port infrastructure.

The six-laning of the NH-5 (A) will be taken up in the second phase of the PCPIR project at a cost of Rs76 crore. The greenfield coastal corridor will involve an expenditure of Rs410 crore out of which Rs 264 will be invested in the first phase while the remaining expenditure of Rs146 crore will be incurred in Phase-II.

The construction of all-new greenfield road from Bhubaneswar to Paradip will be taken up at a cost of Rs190 crore while Rs40 crore would be provided by the Centre for upgradation of port infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Orissa government has committed an expenditure of Rs1796 crore on infrastructure development for the PCPIR hub. Out of the envisaged expenditure of Rs1796 crore, Rs 754 crore will be spent on development of arterial roads, Rs 465 crore on water supply, Rs 410 crore on power distribution and Rs136 crore on canal upgradation.

The PCPIR project in the state would be set up on 284.15 sq km (70,214 acres) of land spread over Jagatsnghpur and Kendrapara districts. The PCPIR hub is expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs2.74 lakh crore.

Phase-I work of the project is expected to be completed by 2015 while the entire project is scheduled for commissioning by 2030.

Of the expected overall investment figure of Rs2.74 lakh crore, the lion’s share would come from the petroleum and petrochemicals sectors at Rs2.3 lakh crore followed by housing and allied infrastructure at Rs23,500 crore, external infrastructure at Rs13,634 crore and Rs3,500 crore each for chemicals & fertilizers and ancillary sectors.

The mega project is set to create employment for 6.48 lakh people which includes direct employment for 2.27 lakh people and indirect employment for 4.41 lakh others.

The turnover of this PCPIR hub is estimated at Rs4.23 lakh crore with an export potential of Rs 43,000 crore. The PCPIR hub is expected to generate taxes to the tune of Rs 42,000 crore and contribute six per cent to Orissa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

… This refinery cum petrochemical complex which needs 3300 acres of land, is scheduled for commissioning by March 2012.

The land acquisition process for PCPIR is on the fast track with the state owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco), the nodal agency for the project having filed requisition for 90 per cent of the total land requirement in .

This is really great. Especially, the part about a greenfield coastal road.  Odisha has been demanding such a road for a long time. I think eventually it will run all the way from Dhamara-Paradeep-Astaranga-Konark-Puri-Baliharchandi-across Chilika to Gopalpur. From Dhamara to the North they can put this road together with the National Waterway.

Following is from a report in New Indian Express.

The State Government has decided to revive the Gopalpur-Digha coastal highway proposal. Announcing this on Monday during question hour, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty said the proposal would be submitted to the Centre for approval after completion of the feasibility report.

Mohanty, who was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said that the length of the highway will be 573 km. Of this, the Astaranga-Dhamra patch will be 245 km while the length of Astaranga-Gopalpur will be 180 km. The patch of highway from Dhamra to Subarnarekha will be 148 km.

The State Government had earlier submitted a proposal to the Centre and requested that it should be included in a Central scheme. However, the proposal was rejected as it did not confirm to the guidelines of the Planning Commission.

In recent years there has been a big jump in the number of kilometers of national highways in Orissa. Following is copied from my page "Roads and Highways infrastructure in Orissa."

Road network: Orissa Roads1; Orissa Roads2; India’s NH network; India’s golden quadrilateral; the part of the GQ/NH-5 that runs through Orissa.

• National Highways in Orissa and India; its growth in recent years:
  • NH 5: Junction with NH No.6 in Jharkhand near Baharagora-Baripada–Baleshwar-Bhadrakh-Cuttack- Bhubaneswar-Khordha-Chhatrapur-Brahmapur– upto Andhra Pradesh Border. (488 kms)
  • NH 5A: Junction with NH No.5 near Haridaspur-Paradip Port. (77 kms)
  • NH 6: From Chhattisgarh Border-Lobarchatti- Bargarh – Sambalpur-Deogarh-Barakot- Kendujhargarh -Jashipur-Bangriposi-upto Jharkhand Border (462 kms)
  • NH 23: From Jharkhand Border-Panposh-Raurkela– Rajamundra-Barakot- Pala Laharha-Talcher-Jn. with NH-42 (209 kms)
  • NH 42: Junction with NH No.6 near Sambalpur– Redhakhol-Anugul-Dhenkanal- Jn. with NH-5 near Cuttack. (261 kms)
  • NH 43: From Chhattisgarh Border– Dhanpunji- Borigma- Jaypur–Koraput-Sunki- Andhra Pradesh Border. (152 kms)
  • NH 60: From West Bengal Border– Jaleswar – Baleshwar (57 kms)
  • NH 75: From Jharkhand Border to junction with NH No.215 near Parsora (18 kms)
  • NH 200: From Chhattisgarh-Machida-Jharsuguda– Kochinda- Deogarh –Talcher-Kamakhyanagar-Sukinda- Chandhikhol (440 kms)
  • NH 201: Boriguma-Ampani-Bhawanipatna– Belgan- Balangir-Luisinga-Jogisuruda-Dunguripali-Bargarh (310 kms)
  • NH 203: Bhubaneshwar-Pipili-Puri–Konark (97 kms)
  • NH 203A: The highway starting from its junction with NH-203 at Puri, connecting Bramhagiri and terminating at Satpada (49 kms)
  • NH 215: Panikoli-Anandapur-Ghatgan- Kendujhargarh– Parsora-Koira-Rajamundra (348 kms)
  • NH 217: From Chhattisgarh Border-Nauparha-Khariar- Titlagarh-Belgan- Ramapur- Baligurha-Sorada-Asika- Brahmapur– Narendrapur- Gopalpur (438 kms)
  • NH 224: Khordha-Nayagarh-Dashapalla- Purunakatak-Bauda-Sonapur-Balangir (298 kms)
• Vijaywada-Ranchi highway (approved by planning commission as reported in May 2006), [July 06] [The Orissa government has been demanding a NH from Vijaywada to Ranchi which will pass through the Naxal infested areas. 1200 km of this 2000km will be in Orissa. CM talked to planning comission about it.]
• Ongoing National Highway work in Orissa
• Future plans for Orissa: [1:april-28-05]; [2:april-28-05].
• Various phases of NHDP: [1]; [2]; [3]
• Other highway plans:
  • 4 laning of Chandikhol-Paradip by February-end of 2007
  • 4 laning of Keonjhar-Panikoili, Duburi-Talcher, Cuttack-Paradeep and Duburi-Keonjhar Highways. [June17-05-Pragativadi]
• Aim-for-with-high-priority/parts-of-it-in-Orissa-govt- plan(page4)-already:
  • Connect NH 215 (perhaps at Jajpur Rd) to Jenapur to NH200 (where it meets Brahmani) with a highway as Jenapur is the location where the National waterway will cross the railway line and Jenapur is 7 kms from where a branch of the line goes to Daitari and Bansapani.
  • Designate AP-border-Koraput-Raygada-Padampur- Berhampur (in NH5) as a National highway. (This will bring Koraput and Raygada, thus a big part of KBK, closer to BBSR) — a slight revision of what is in the plan
  • Designate Anandpur (NH 215)-Bhadrak-Dhamara port as an NH. (This will bring Dhamara port closer to Jharkhand, thus helping industries in Jharkhand and Orissa.)
  • Jagatpur-Kendrapara-Chandbali-Dhamara — make it an NH (alternative route to Dhamara port)
  • Panikoili/Kuakhia-Jajpur-Aradi-Chandabali — make it an NH (alternative route to Dhamara port)
  • Panikoili-Jajpur-Kendrapara-NH5a-Paradeep — make it an NH (alternative to Paradeep port)
• Orissa State Road Transport Company (OSRTC)
• Wide city roads:
  • Four-laning of the Airport-Dhamana Chhaka road in Bhubaneswar: [1]
  • Other Bhubaneswar Road plans: [1], [2]
• Bhubaneswar area road plans:
  • Being pursued: BBSR-Barang-Khuntuni-NH42; alternate route to Bhubaneswar-Cuttack via Barang; Khurda-Cuttack bypass via Pitapalli; Bhubaneswar (Uttara chhack) to Paradeep highway (Uttara chhack map)
  • Should be pursued: Bhubaneswar-Khurda Rd station (already some Puri-Adi trains bypass Bhubaneswar. So Khurda Rd could be an alternative reliever station for Bhubaneswar. Then this road would be very important.); Patia station to Pahala in NH5 (this would be a third alternative to Bhubaneswar-Cuttack especially from the hot area of KIIT, Infocity, etc.)