India has approved three road projects in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, valued at Rs53.88bn ($1.05bn).

Developments include the six-laning of the Vijaywada-Gundugolanu section of NH 5 in Andhra Pradesh, worth Rs20.11bn ($391m), as well as the four-laning of the Kiratpur-Ner Chowk section on the NH 21 in Himachal Pradesh, costing Rs23.56bn ($458m). The final approved project is the four-laning of the Uttar Pradesh/Haryana border-Yamunagar-Saha-Barwala-Panchkula section on NH 73 in Haryana, with estimated cost of Rs10.21bn ($198.6m).

The total length of the Andhra Pradesh project will be 103.59km, it will reduce the travel time between Vijayawada-Gundugolanu, as well as increase the capacity of the Golden Quadrilateral corridor. The road will be used by commuters on the Chennai-Kolkata section of the Golden Quadrilateral, passing through Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari districts, in addition to the Chennai-Hyderabad and Kolkata-Hyderabad section.

The National Highway No.5 is an important link, connecting Kolkata to Chennai, and is part of the Golden Quadrilateral Corridor. The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure will allocate Rs3.27bn ($63.6m) for land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.

The 84.38km Himachal Pradesh project will improve travel time between Kiratpur and Ner Chowk and cover the districts of Rupnagar, Bilaspur and Manali. The National Highway No. 21 is a major link to Leh in Ladakh and also connects the national capital with the tourist destination of Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

Out of the total project cost, about Rs5.37bn ($104m) has been earmarked for land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction. The total length of the Haryana project will be 104.77 km and it encompasses the districts of Yamunagar, Ambala and Panchkula.

The project is expected to reduce traffic congestion between the UP/Haryana border-Yamunanagar-Saha-Barwala-Panchkula stretch, as well as in Yamunagar, Saha, Shahazadopur and Dangri Barwala due to the construction of bypasses. Some Rs862m ($16m) has been earmarked for land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.