Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced plans for a 630-km highway corridor connecting Siliguri in West Bengal with Guwahati in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya. The project is estimated to cost Rs 61,500 crore and will combine new greenfield stretches with upgrades to existing highways.
Speaking at an event in Assam, Gadkari described the proposed corridor as an important connectivity link for the Northeast.
Siliguri-Guwahati section
The first section will connect Siliguri with Guwahati over approximately 400 km at an estimated cost of Rs 30,000 crore. The route approval process is currently under way.
The section is intended to improve connectivity between West Bengal and the northeastern states, including through the strategically important Siliguri Corridor.
Jorabat-Barapani greenfield highway
The second section will connect Jorabat near Guwahati with Barapani near Shillong through a new greenfield highway.
The proposed alignment will reduce the distance between the two locations from around 100 km to 66 km. Travel time is expected to fall from approximately two-and-a-half hours to about one hour.
Shillong-Silchar highway
The third section will comprise a 165-km greenfield highway connecting Shillong with Silchar. Gadkari said the work order for the project is expected to be issued in November.
The proposed highway will shorten the existing route from approximately 230 km to 165 km, while travel time is expected to be reduced from around eight hours to four hours.
Broader Northeast road connectivity
The government is also developing a separate expressway connecting Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh with Siliguri. Together with the proposed 630-km corridor, the projects are intended to strengthen high-speed road connectivity between Uttar Pradesh and the Northeast.
In Assam, 265 road projects covering approximately 4,700 km are currently under way at an estimated cost of around Rs 2 lakh crore. Another 31 projects covering about 1,470 km have been proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 92,000 crore.
National highway length in the Northeast increased from 10,905 km in 2014 to 16,207 km by March 2025, according to the government’s figures.
