Recent Current Affairs related to NHAI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over ₹4,700 crore in Chandigarh.

The projects focus on the expansion of healthcare, education, and road infrastructure. As part of the connectivity projects, the PM inaugurated the IT City–Kurali six-lane Greenfield Highway.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved two infrastructure projects to relieve Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The first project involves the development of a 43.218 km Link/Connector Corridor connecting National Highway (NH)-31 and the Varanasi Ring Road along the Varuna River, at a cost of ₹10,998 crore.

The second project entails the development of a 46.039 km Link/Connector Corridor between NH-19 and the Varanasi Ring Road along the Ganga River, at a cost of ₹14,447 crore. Both projects will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved 2 major infrastructure projects. The first is the construction of the 117.7 km Kanpur–Kabrai Access-Controlled Greenfield Highway, a key segment of the Bhopal–Kanpur Economic Corridor, at an estimated cost of ₹7,145.14 crore.

The second project involves the construction of an 8.1 km, 6-lane road tunnel for National Highway (NH)-148AE, connecting the Dwarka Expressway (NH 248 BB) with Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj in Delhi. The tunnel project, estimated at ₹6,969.67 crore, will be executed on the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed an MoU with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to establish the "NHAI Centre for Economics of Transportation, Mobility and Logistics".

The facility will serve as the first permanent and independent research centre of India dedicated specifically to the economics of transportation, mobility, and logistics.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the 4-laning of the Armoor-Jagtial-Mancherial section of National Highway (NH)-63 and the Jagtial-Karimnagar section of NH-563. These projects, spanning a total length of 190.76 km, will be developed at an estimated cost of ₹7,597 crore.

Additionally, the CCEA has sanctioned the construction of a new coastal highway connecting Rameshwar to Paradeep in Odisha. The project, spanning 160.18 km, will be implemented at an estimated cost of ₹8,300 crore.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with the Vertis Foundation, has launched “Project Saksham” to empower rural women through skill development and employment opportunities.

The initiative aims to provide industry-relevant skills, promote financial independence, and facilitate access to formal employment opportunities for rural women. Project Saksham operates through a network of 12 training centres established across India.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has signed an MoU with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) to leverage the expertise of the latter in geotechnical engineering and natural hazard mitigation.

The collaboration aims to strengthen engineering capabilities, particularly in geologically sensitive and challenging terrains.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has inaugurated the first Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) based tolling system of India at the Chorayasi Toll Plaza, located on the Surat-Bharuch section of National Highway-48 (NH-48) in Gujarat. The system aims to modernize the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) infrastructure.

The MLFF framework enables barrier-less tolling with minimal human intervention, allowing vehicles to transit toll locations without stopping for a seamless traffic flow. It is to be noted that 41,500 vehicles used the facility on the inaugural day of its implementation.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched the ‘Arogya Van’ (health forest) initiative to establish thematic corridors of medicinal tree plantations along the National Highways. The project aims to enhance biodiversity and promote traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda while conserving indigenous medicinal flora.

In the first phase, the project covers 17 land parcels spanning 62.8 hectares. It involves the planting of 67.46 thousand medicinal trees belonging to 36 distinct species.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 213-km-long Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor, built at a cost of over ₹12,000 crore. The six-lane access-controlled highway connects Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, reducing travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from over 6 hours to 2.5 hours.

The project features the longest elevated wildlife corridor in Asia, spanning 12 km through the Rajaji National Park. The corridor ensures the unhindered movement of wildlife, including elephants and leopards.