The four-laning of the highway connecting Villupuram and Nagapattinam via Puducherry, will be completed by January 2025, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, has informed the Lok Sabha.
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Replying to a question by Puducherry MP V. Vaithilingam on Thursday, July 27, 2023, the Union Minister said the four-laning work of NH-45A has been taken up in four stages. The work on the stretch from Villupuram to Puducherry will be completed by January next year; Puducherry to Poondiyankuppam by March next year and Poondiyankuppam to Sattanathapuram by February the same year. The final stretch of the four-laning from Sattanathapuram to Nagapattinam will be completed by January 2025.
All safety measures have been put in place at the construction site. Marshalls have been deployed at various stretches to ensure smooth movement of traffic while the work is being taken up, the Minister said.
To another question by Mr. Vaithilingam, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V. K Singh said the Centre has given in-principle approval for setting up 21 Greenfield Airports in the country, including one in Karaikal region at a cost of ₹50 crore. Out of the 21 Greenfield Airports, 11 have been made operational, he added.
The 11 Greenfield airports collectively handle around 35 lakh passengers and the number was steadily growing, the Minister said, adding that such airports were developed with the goal to enhance connectivity and bring all-round economic development of those regions.