The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the construction of a new coastal highway connecting Rameshwar and Paradeep in Odisha at a total cost of ₹8,300.79 crore.
The project will be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and will cover a total length of about 160.18 kilometres across Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts.
According to the government, the highway will be constructed in two packages. The first package comprises a 79.4-kilometre four-lane access-controlled highway between Rameshwar and Konark, while the second package involves the construction of an 80.78-kilometre two-lane highway with paved shoulders between Konark and Paradeep.
The project has been approved in view of increasing traffic demand and limitations in the existing road network. The current NH-316 corridor connecting Bhubaneswar, Puri, Satapada and Konark faces congestion, ribbon development and heavy local commuter traffic, affecting long-distance travel efficiency.
Designed for speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour, the new coastal highway is expected to significantly improve connectivity across Odisha’s coastal region and support regional economic growth.
The government said the project aligns with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and will connect nine economic nodes and five logistics nodes, contributing to improvements in the country’s logistics efficiency.
Upon completion, travel time between Rameshwar and Paradeep is expected to reduce by nearly two and a half hours. The project is also expected to lower fuel consumption, reduce carbon emissions and bring down vehicle operating costs.
The corridor will improve connectivity to key economic and industrial centres, including special economic zones in Bhubaneswar and Khurda, a mega food park in Bhubaneswar, fishing clusters in Paradeep, Konark, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Kendrapada, and a pharmaceutical cluster in Cuttack.
Major logistics hubs linked through the project include Puri Railway Station, the proposed Puri Airport, Astarang Port, Paradeep Port and the Multi-Modal Logistics Park at Jagatsinghpur.
The government estimates that the project will generate around 53.61 lakh direct man-days and 67.01 lakh indirect man-days of employment during its construction and implementation phases.
Both packages will be developed with a concession period of 17.5 years, including 2.5 years of construction and 15 years of operation and maintenance.
