New Bhubaneswar Bypass, Kota Airport Get Cabinet Nod
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved two significant infrastructure projects: a 6-lane access-controlled Capital Region Ring Road (Bhubaneswar Bypass) in Odisha and a Greenfield Airport in Kota-Bundi, Rajasthan, with a combined investment of Rs. 9,814.74 crore.
The Bhubaneswar Bypass, a 110.875 km Greenfield highway on the Kolkata-Chennai corridor, will be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs. 8,307.74 crore, including Rs. 4,686.74 crore for civil works and Rs. 1,029.43 crore for land acquisition. The project aims to alleviate congestion on the existing National Highway connecting Rameshwar to Tangi, which passes through the urbanised cities of Khordha, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack.
The 6-lane highway will divert heavy commercial traffic, enhancing freight movement efficiency and reducing logistics costs, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of 28,282 Passenger Car Units (PCU) in FY-25. It integrates with three National Highways (NH-55, NH-57, NH-655) and one State Highway (SH-65), connecting 10 economic nodes (including SEZ, Mega Food Park, Textile & Pharma Cluster, Fishing Cluster), four social nodes (including Aspirational, Tribal, and LWE-affected Districts), and five logistic nodes (including Bhubaneswar Airport, Khordha Railway Station, Puri and Astrang ports, and a proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park). The project is expected to generate 74.43 lakh person-days of direct employment and 93.04 lakh person-days of indirect employment, boosting regional socio-economic growth.
In Rajasthan, the CCEA approved the development of a Greenfield Airport at Kota-Bundi at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,507 crore. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will oversee the project, which includes a 20,000 sqm terminal building capable of handling 1,000 peak-hour passengers and 2 million passengers annually, a 3,200m x 45m runway suitable for A-321 aircraft, an apron with seven parking bays, two link taxiways, an ATC cum Technical Block, a fire station, and a car park.
The Government of Rajasthan has transferred 440.06 hectares of land for the project. Kota, known as the industrial capital and educational coaching hub of Rajasthan, requires this infrastructure to accommodate anticipated traffic growth. The existing Kota Airport, with a 1,220m x 38m runway suitable for smaller Code ‘B’ aircraft and a 400 sqm terminal handling 50 peak-hour passengers, is constrained by limited land and urbanisation, making it unsuitable for commercial expansion.
Both projects are poised to enhance connectivity, support economic development, and improve regional infrastructure, a Cabinet note stated. The Bhubaneswar Bypass will facilitate faster movement of goods and passengers, while the Kota-Bundi Airport will cater to the growing demands of the industrial and educational sectors in Rajasthan, it added.
– global bihari bureau
