Odisha's 160-km Coastal Highway to Slash Travel Time by 2.5 Hours
Odisha's new 160-km Coastal Highway will cut Rameswar-Paradeep travel time by 2.5 hours, improving connectivity to ports and tourist sites.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is developing a 160-km access-controlled greenfield highway along Odisha's coast that will reduce travel time between Rameswar and Paradeep by approximately 2.5 hours. The corridor is designed to provide faster connectivity across several key locations in the state.
The project is split into two packages. The first covers 79.4 km between Rameswar and Konark as a four-lane access-controlled highway. The second spans 80.7 km from Konark to Paradeep as a two-lane highway with paved shoulders. The combined capital cost is approved at Rs 8,300.79 crore, and implementation will follow the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). The highway is designed for a speed of 100 kmph.
The route will offer quicker access to major tourist destinations, including the Jagannath Temple, Puri Beach, and the Konark Sun Temple. It will also serve as an alternative to NH-16 and NH-316, improving connectivity to Puri, Konark, and Paradeep Port, as well as the upcoming Puri International Airport. The corridor will also link developing ports such as Astarang and Subarnarekha, and pass through the districts of Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada, and Jagatsinghpur.
The project addresses congestion on existing routes. NH-16 passes through urban hubs like Khurda, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack, while NH-316 connects Bhubaneswar with Puri and extends toward Satapada and Konark. NHAI notes that sections of the Puri-Satpada and Puri-Konark roads have nearly 40 per cent ribbon development and carry significant local traffic, making them unsuitable for high-speed long-distance travel.
The new corridor is expected to ease long-distance traffic movement, reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and vehicle operating costs, and lower logistics costs in the region. The project has drawn strong interest, with 10 bids received for the Rameswar-Konark package and seven for the Konark-Paradeep package. During construction, it is expected to generate around 53.6 lakh direct man-days and 67 lakh indirect man-days of employment.