Bhubaneswar, May 16: The Central government has sanctioned national highway projects worth ₹13,000 crore for Odisha in the current 2025-26 financial year, state Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan announced on Thursday.
The Odisha government has set a target to complete road construction works amounting to ₹2,000 crore by September this year. “We must accelerate the pace of construction. Our goal is to utilise ₹2,000 crore by September. If we can meet project deadlines, we stand to receive the full ₹13,000 crore from the Union government and potentially set a new benchmark in national highway development in the state,” Harichandan said.
He expressed optimism that Odisha will surpass its national highway development achievements of the past five years.
Speaking about the much-anticipated Sambalpur-Cuttack highway project, the minister acknowledged previous delays due to financial constraints faced by the executing agency. However, he confirmed that these issues have been resolved and most of the work is now complete. “Only a few stretches are pending. I am confident the remaining work will be finished by the end of this year,” he added.
