CCEA Approves Rs 6,957 Crore Highway project with Wildlife Corridor in Assam

1. Basic Project Approval

• Ratified by: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Project: 4 laning of the Kalibor-Numaligarh section of NH-715.
• Length: 85.675 km.
• Mode: Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC).

2. Cost of Financing and Cost-Breakdown.

• Total Capital Cost: Rs6,957 crore.
• Civil Cost: Rs4,829 crore.
• Land Acquisition: Rs622 crore.

3. Significant Characteristics: Wildlife-Consentric Measures.

• There will also be a wildlife corridor of 34.5 km long and dedicated, close to the Kaziranga National Park.
• Purpose: To provide free safe movement of animals between Karbi Anglong hills and Kaziranga.
• Additional Measures: has road upgrading 30.22 km and bypasses (Jakhalabandha: 11.5 km; Bokakhat: 9.5 km) to reduce human-animal conflict.

4. Enhanced Connectivity

• Road Connections: Intersects with NH-127, NH-129 and SH-35.
• Air and Rail: Connected with 3 airports (Tezpur, Lilabari, Jorhat) and 3 railways stations (Nagaon, Jakhalabandha, Vishwanath Chariali).
• Introduction: Guwahati, Nagaon, Golaghat, Numaligarh, Jorhat.

5. Socio-Economic/Tourism Impact.

• Economic Nodes: Includes the Tezpur and Nagaon fishing groups.
• Regional Development: 2 tribal districts (Karbi Anglong and Wokha) will gain.
• Tourism Boost: It offers 8 tourist/religious destinations such as Kaziranga National Park, Kakochang Waterfall and various temples.
• Employment: It has the potential of creating 15.42 lakh direct and 19.19 lakh indirect man days of employment.

6. Projected Benefits

• Enhance road safety and decrease the time of traveling.
• Enhance commercial, logistics and industrialization in the area.
• Increase tourism in Kaziranga and environs.
• Traffic: 13,800 Passenger Car Units (PCU) is the estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic.