New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS): The central government awarded a total of 322 projects for the construction of 12,413 km roads under the 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' till August, said a statement issued from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Sunday.

Till August, 2,921 km road has been constructed under the project.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken up detailed review of National Highways network and has given overall investment approval for Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase I Scheme for development of about 34,800 km (including 10,000 km residual NHDP stretches) at an estimated outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crore.

Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions like development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes, National Corridor Efficiency Improvement, Border and International connectivity roads, Coastal and Port connectivity roads and Green-field expressways.