The Indian Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 13,041 crore infrastructure package targeting congestion along the nation’s eastern and southern freight corridors, allocating Rs 9,450 crore to four railway multi-tracking projects spanning 410 kilometres, alongside a strategic four-lane highway upgrade in Bihar near the Nepal border.
The investment aims to reduce India’s logistics costs, which currently hover around 13–14 per cent of GDP compared to the global average of 8–10 per cent. Clearing bottlenecks along the Howrah–Chennai main line is expected to facilitate an additional 76 million tonnes of freight traffic annually.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw detailed the four rail components spanning West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, scheduled for completion by FY2030–31: the 173-km Kharagpur–Bhadrak Fourth Line (Rs 3,352 crore), the 75-km Bhadrak–Haridaspur Fourth Line (Rs 1,583 crore), the 72-km Cuttack–Paradeep Third and Fourth Lines (Rs 2,286 crore), and the 90-km Gummidipundi–Gudur Third and Fourth Lines (Rs 2,229 crore). These corridors carry essential commodities including coal, iron ore, steel, cement and containerised cargo, and are expected to improve connectivity for nearly 6,448 villages.
Separately, the Cabinet allocated Rs 3,590.73 crore for four-laning an 82.6-km section of NH-22 in Bihar under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, connecting major commercial centres to the India-Nepal border and expected to accelerate bilateral trade.
The construction phase is expected to generate significant employment and provide a strong order book for India’s steel, cement and electrical signalling equipment manufacturers.
