New Delhi, Mar 6 (IANS): Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said a sum of Rs 2,675.31 crore has been sanctioned for the 4-Laning of the Belgaum-Hungund-Raichur Section of National Highway-748A in Bagalkot & Belgavi districts in Karnataka. This initiative spans a total length of 92.4 km and will be implemented through the Hybrid Annuity Mode which involves a public-private partnership.

The minister said this undertaking is an integral part of the Panaji-Hyderabad economic corridor. This EC10 project connects pivotal industrial hubs including Panaji, celebrated for fishing, tourism, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries; Belgavi renowned for food grains, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, oilseed, and milk products; Raichur, recognized for rice, cotton, groundnut, and pulses; and Hyderabad, distinguished for IT, Pharm, Healthcare, and as a hub for various startups situated in Goa, Karnataka, and Telangana states, respectively.

The hybrid annuity model (HAM) for building National Highways (NH) is being implemented to speed up the construction of roads in the country by reviving the interest of private developers in highway projects. Under this private-public partnership (PPP) mode, 40 per cent of the project cost will be provided by the Government as support during the construction period and the balance 60 per cent will be paid as annuity payments over the operations period along with interest to the concessionaire.