A total of six infrastructure projects, valued at over Rs 28,000 crore, have been proposed under the PM GatiShakti initiative.

These recommended projects pertain to the Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The decision was taken at the 53rd National Planning Group (NPG) meeting, held in New Delhi on Wednesday, reports ANI.

Chaired by Sumita Dawra, the Special Secretary of Logistics at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the session emphasised that in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for area development approach, the projects would offer multimodal connectivity to promote socio-economic progress and decongest urban and rail infrastructure.

The NPG consists of heads of the network planning wing of respective infrastructure ministries and will assist the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS), which is headed by the cabinet secretary.

The group aims to guide all the departments and ministries responsible for creation of economic zones and connectivity infrastructure starting from the planning phase, and will play a crucial role in the required coordination between the ministries and departments.

Projects Recommended By NPG

The projects identified by the NPG comprise three related to railways and three under road transport.

The press note stated that these projects are expected to enhance connectivity to villages and vital industrial hubs by circumventing congested, densely populated zones, consequently reducing travel time.

Under the GatiShakti principles of area development approach, the Barbil-Nayagarh-Barsuan and Bhadrasahi-Kiriburu railway project was evaluated.

This project, with a total cost of Rs 12,532 crore, links the existing stations including Barbil, Barsuan, Kiriburu (of South Eastern Railway), and Nayagarh (of East Coast Railway).

The alignment spans key mining areas in Odisha's Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts, as well as Jharkhand's Paschimi Singhbhum district.

The NPG also reviewed the planned Malkangiri to Bhadrachalam railway line, which has a projected cost of Rs 3,591 crore.

This line will traverse through the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, establishing a fresh corridor linking South Central Railway (Pandurangapuram) to East Coast Railway (Junagarh).

Additionally, the proposed Vaibhavwadi-Kolhapur railway line, valued at Rs 3,411 crore, was assessed.

This new line aims to accommodate thermal coal transportation to numerous thermal power plants in the area, especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The assessment also covered connectivity for local industries and tourist-centric zones within the region.

Among the road projects, the NPG assessed the Hassan-Raichur Economic Corridor 20 (EC20) with a total cost of Rs 6,274 crore, as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

The EC20 corridor crosses two states and five districts — Karnataka's Hassan, Tumkur, Bellary, and Raichur, along with Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool.

Further, the recommendations included the six-laning project from Gonde to Pimpri-Sado section of National Highway (NH)-848, valued at Rs 936 crore, along with the four-laning initiative near Satai ghat to Kaimaha near the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh border, amounting to Rs 2,128 crore.

These projects are expected to reduce traffic congestion and enhance freight management, in the existing highways and lead to improved movement pattern on the highway.