Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has set an aggressive roadmap to transform Andhra Pradesh’s road infrastructure, directing officials to complete National Highway projects worth ₹1.4 lakh crore in the state by 2029. In a review meeting held on Thursday, he stressed that highway development must be time-bound and sharply focused on cutting freight and logistics costs to unlock economic gains.
Naidu called for accelerated execution of projects taken up by national agencies and the Union roads ministry, stating that Andhra Pradesh should emerge as a national benchmark in delivering large-scale infrastructure works. He underlined the need to expand the National Highway network, increase road density and upgrade existing two-lane stretches into four- and six-lane corridors. A key thrust of this expansion, he said, is to plan roads strategically to connect ports and major economic centres, thereby strengthening the state’s logistics backbone.
Under the plan, ports at Mulapeta in Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam and Krishnapatnam will be seamlessly linked with National Highways, with hinterland connectivity extended to neighbouring states to facilitate smooth cargo movement. Naidu noted that NH works worth ₹42,194 crore are already under execution and pressed for their completion within a year. He specifically flagged the Bengaluru–Kadapa–Vijayawada economic corridor, linking the capital Amaravati, as a priority project that should be completed by 2027, while also seeking early preparation of the DPR for the proposed Kharagpur–Amaravati greenfield expressway.
The chief minister said timely completion of these corridors would yield immediate economic and social benefits and asked officials to secure approvals and fast-track all priority works, including those pending with the Centre. He also directed that connectivity be strengthened along key routes such as Nagpur–Vijayawada–Machilipatnam, Raipur–Amaravati and the links connecting Mulapeta Port with Jagdalpur and Raipur. Calling for a comprehensive expansion of the state’s road network, he asked the Roads and Buildings department to come out with a clear action plan.
Officials informed the meeting that work is under way to construct 6,054 km of roads at a cost of ₹2,500 crore, with modern technologies such as Danish fibre, waste plastic bitumen and nano-concrete developed by IIT Tirupati being adopted on a pilot basis. Naidu insisted that the state’s 45,000 km of state and district roads must be made completely pothole-free, backed by adequate funding for maintenance and continuous monitoring using RAMS technology. Under the PPP mode, 12 roads spanning 709 km have been proposed, and the chief minister called for robust road construction particularly in the combined East and West Godavari districts. The review was attended by roads minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy along with senior officials of the department and National Highways authorities.
