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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of highways projects worth Rs 15,592 in Andhra Pradesh

These include 16 highway projects stretching over 1,411 km.

Addressing an event through video-conferencing on the occasion, Gadkari said the length of national highways in Andhra Pradesh before May 2014 was 4,193 km, which has now increased to 6,860 km, registering an increase of 2,667 km, or 64 percent, in length in six years.

He said works costing Rs 34,100 crore are under the detailed project report (DPR) stage and maybe completed by 2024, while works costing Rs 25,440 crore are under implementation.

The minister said 50-60 per cent progress has been achieved in projects costing Rs 18,100 crore.

Gadkari said 5,000 km of national highways are being developed as a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana in the state. In addition, 400 km of port connectivity roads will also be developed under the program.

Many flagship corridors such as Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway and Anantapur-Amaravati Expressway are being developed as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, he added. Gadkari also said the 335-km Anantpur-Amaravati Expressway is also being developed as part of the program.

The controlled-access expressway, he said, will improve connectivity of the capital region, coastal and northern region of Andhra Pradesh and will enable the economic prosperity of the region.

The expressway has 16 packages and is being developed with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore.

It connects Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, with Anantapuramu of Rayalaseema Region, and provides a major connectivity between NH-44 and NH-16 which are the lifeline in Andhra Pradesh.

The minister said the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway with a length of 262 km is also one of the expressways being developed as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

These include eight projects with a road length of 150 km at a cost of Rs 3,850 crore by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and 19 projects with a road length of 487 km at Rs 4,456 crore by the ministry.

Further, projects with a total length of 535 km costing Rs 11,712 crore will be awarded during the current financial year, the statement said.

It added that these include four projects with a road length of 217 km at a cost of Rs 9,071 crore by NHAI, and nine projects with a road length of 318 km at Rs 2,641 crore by the highways ministry.

Another 2,371-km project costing Rs 34,133 crore are at the DPR stage. These include 10 projects with a road length of 713 km at a cost of Rs 19,559 crore by NHAI.

The event was presided by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, and participated by Union Ministers V K Singh and G Kishan Reddy, among others