New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the construction of a six-lane Access-Controlled Capital Region Ring Road in Odisha. The 110.875-km-long Bhubaneswar bypass will be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at an estimated cost of ₹8,307.74 crore.

The project is expected to ease traffic congestion by diverting heavy commercial vehicles away from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Khordha. It will also improve freight efficiency, reduce logistics costs, and drive socio-economic growth in the region.

The proposed alignment will connect with three major National Highways (NH-55, NH-57, NH-655) and one State Highway (SH-65), ensuring seamless connectivity to important economic, social, and logistics hubs across Odisha.

The corridor will also strengthen multi-modal integration by linking 10 Economic Nodes, four Social Nodes, and five Logistic Nodes. It will further connect Khordha railway station, Bhubaneswar airport, a proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP), and two ports—Puri and Astarang—facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers.

Currently, the Rameshwar–Tangi stretch on the existing National Highway faces severe congestion due to heavy traffic passing through the densely populated cities of Khordha, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack. Once completed, the new bypass is expected to significantly decongest this stretch while boosting connectivity between major religious and economic centres.

The project will also generate around 74.43 lakh person-days of direct employment and 93.04 lakh person-days of indirect employment, paving the way for regional growth and industrial development.