The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari is set to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for 31 projects worth Rs 13,296 crore in Jharkhand today i.e. on Thursday, the officials said.

Itinerary of Union Minister Gadkari

According to the officials, the union minister will arrive in Ranchi around 12.30 pm and head to Jamshedpur. Also, he is scheduled to address a BJP rally at Gopal Maidan in the afternoon.

Among the 31 projects, 21 pertain to state capital Ranchi, entailing an estimated investment of Rs 9,453 crore, and nine to Jamshedpur at a cost of Rs 3,378 crore, the officials added.

Moreover, the union minister will dedicate to the nation a 44-km stretch between Jamshedpur and Mahulta on National Highway-33 which is constructed at a cost of Rs 465 crore.

Speaking to the media, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chief General Manager, S K Mishra, “This stretch will provide Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Kolkata connectivity via Jamshedpur, significantly reducing travel time.”

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‘This will drive commercial development’

The project will also drive commercial development in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, he stated.

Apart from these, the foundation stone for a four-lane double-decker elevated corridor will be laid on NH-33, connecting Kali Mandi, Dimna Chowk and Baliguma in Jamshedpur, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,876 crore, for reducing traffic burden on the Steel City.

As part of a Bharatmala package, a four-lane access control road will be constructed on the Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor of NH-320.

“After completion of the project, Raipur will be commercially connected to Dhanbad and travel time between Ranchi to Bokaro will reduce drastically, thus leading to the social and industrial development of both the states,” the senior NHAI official said.

During the visit, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate a six-lane underpass at Ramgarh, constructed at Rs 24.14 crore, keeping in mind people’s safety.

“The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has identified Patel Chowk at Ramgarh as a ‘black spot’, with 22 road accidents recorded there in the last three years. After the construction of the underpass at Patel Chowk, accidents can be checked in that area,” the official said.

Several other projects to boost tourism and facilitate faster travel will be inaugurated by the union minister, the official added.