By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 3 2021: The 300-km-long Paradip-Barbil road will be converted into an eight-lane highway, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday after a meeting with the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik through video conferencing to review the National Highway projects of Odisha at his residence here.

Pradhan said a decision with regard to the Paradip-Barbil economic corridor was taken in a meeting with Gadkari and Patnaik.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Pradhan said that a decision with regard to the Paradip-Barbil economic corridor was taken in the meeting. He said, “The 300-km long Paradip-Barbil road will be converted into an eight-lane highway.”

“Under Bharatmala project, a coastal highway project of about 400KM from the Digha Port in West Bengal to Gopalpur port of Odisha was also discussed,” he added.

Pradhan termed both the highway projects ‘important’ for the development of the Odisha state.

Many senior officers of the Union Government, State Government, and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were also present at the meeting.