By IANS
New Delhi : The ambitious freight corridors proposed to connect the eastern and the western parts of India at a cost of Rs.284 billion ($7.1 billion) has been approved by the Indian cabinet of ministers.
“The whole corridor will have a computerised train control system,” an official statement said Tuesday, after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The corridors are expected to take five years to build.
The eastern corridor will link Sonnagar in West Bengal to Ludhiana in Punjab.
The western corridor will connect Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai with the export hubs of Tughlakabad and Dadri near the national capital, New Delhi.
“The project will immensely benefit ports, exporters, importers, shipping lines and container operators in the western corridor, and coal companies, steel plants and thermal power stations in the eastern corridor,” the statement said.
“The project will provide much-needed rail infrastructure for growth of Indian economy and export-import trade. The project will also generate indirect employment during construction phase.”
Regarding the eastern corridor, the cabinet had earlier given permission for it to start from Ludhiana and terminate at Sonnagar, via Ambala, Saharanpur, Khurja and Allahabad.
But in view of a representation from the West Bengal government, the proposed corridor may be extended to Kolkata because of the possible increase in freight traffic on account of a proposed deep-sea port there.
RITES, the consultancy arm of Indian Railways, is conducting a feasibility study of the Sonnagar-Kolkata portion of the corridor, following which the cabinet will be approached to secure a formal nod for extension, officials said.