Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday announced a bunch of projects to better connectivity in the states of Telangana and Andhra.

A detailed project report for development of Expressways between Hyderabad and Bangalore (550 km) and Hyderabad and Vijayawada (Amaravati 270 km), with a potential investment outlay of Rs. 16,000 crore will soon be prepared. Apart from that about Rs. 25,000 crore would be invested in development of highways in the State, the Business Line quotes Gadkari as saying.

"This is in line with our vision to establish express highway network throughout the country. We have already begun works for the first access-control express highway at Delhi and the Delhi-Meerut express highway. This is not the final figure. It is still open for discussion. If recommendations come from the State government or MPs, MLAs or our party leaders for any new National Highways, we will think positively and support it” Gadkari told reporters.

A report in The Hindu also adds that Rs 24,800 crore will be spent on development of new national highways and improvement of the existing ones, totalling to 2,500 kilometres in Telangana, while a dry port is also being planned on the Godavari river in Telangana.

Gadkari who later had lunch with Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was in Telangana to officially lay the foundation stone for a four-lane highway between Yadadri and Warangal and inaugurate a bridge across river Godavari.