Bhubaneswar, July 21: The Centre today said that Paradip would be developed into a smart port and the city brought under the smart city project at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.
Union minister of road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari made the announcement while laying the foundation stone of a new six-lane bridge on the Brahmani in Rourkela. The bridge will be 492 metres long and 32 metres wide.
"Paradip would be developed as a smart port and the city brought under the smart city project. We have earmarked a budget of Rs 40,000 crore for this. Work costing Rs 20,000 crore has already begun," said Gadkari.
The Opposition had been criticising the NDA government at the Centre for allegedly neglecting the Paradip port and promoting the Dhamra port in Bhadrak district after an LNG project was launched there.
In Rourkela, Gadkari said: "The Centre is giving importance to road development in the state. Around Rs 1.5 lakh crore would be spent in the state. Steps have already been initiated for projects worth Rs 60,000 crore."
Admitting that the second bride over Brahmani had been delayed, Gadkari said: "Earlier, the proposal had been to build a two-lane bridge. But keeping the volume of traffic in mind, we are now building a six-lane bridge. The government of India has already earmarked Rs 476 crore for the bridge."
The Union minister promised that the bridge would be completed in two years. The existing two-lane bridge on the Brahmani on NH-143 connects Rourkela to Sambalpur. The issue of constructing a second bridge on the Brahmani had turned into a political issue with Rourkela's BJP MLA Dillip Ray questioning the Centre's attitude towards the steel city. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, too, had written to central government on the issue.
Ray had criticised the Prime Minister for not honouring the commitment he had made during his visit to Rourkela in 2015 and even stayed away from major party events in the state.
At today's event, prominent BJP leaders, including Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, apart from Dillip Ray, took part.
While Gadkari's Rourkela event was a smooth affair, his Angul meeting triggered controversy.
Ahead of his visit to the town, local journalists alleged that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had given them Rs 500 notes in the press kits distributed to them.
At the meeting, the journalists also displayed the notes allegedly given to them. Later, they took the NHAI public relations officer (PRO) to the local police station where he was detained.
"I was asked to distribute the media kit. I have no idea about the money kept inside," PRO Siben Singh Parihar said.
Neither Gadkari nor Pradhan could be contacted for their comments on the issue.
