Regional Ring Road project to take shape soon

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HYDERABAD, June 21, 2014

HMDA has been preparing a detailed report on the project

With the government expressing keen interest in pushing ahead key infrastructure projects to enhance the city’s image as a preferred investment destination, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) plans to come up with a Regional Ring Road (RRR) is expected to get an impetus.

Despite delays, the HMDA’s earlier project on 158 km long eight-lane Outer Ring Road (ORR) encircling the city beyond the peripheries has reached the final lap and as part of the Master Plan, the planning body last year had come out with the Regional Ring Road proposal.

The RRR concept has been drawn up as 290 km long road network that rounds up the new and emerging destinations beyond the ORR and while linking districts that were made part of extended jurisdiction of HMDA, also sets up connectivity with the national highways.

Envisaging Hyderabad as primary nucleus, the Master Plan had identified several sub-nuclei centres to act as urban nodes and urban centres in the expanded jurisdiction that include districts of Medak, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy, and the proposed road network had been designed to interlink them.

Initially, the RRR was proposed with 60 metre width, but following the suggestion of the then Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, it was revised as 90 metre width. The alignment has been worked out as passing through several existing settlements such as Toopran, Sangareddy, Eddumailaram, Chevella, Narsapur, Shabad, Shadnagar, Daudguda, Ibrahimpatnam, Bibinagar, Malkapuram and Gundelaguda.

Of the 290 km RRR, according to HMDA officials, an alignment of approximately 210 km length would be on existing roads and the rest would be newly created alignment. “We intend shaping the connectivity by strengthening the existing roads along the alignments and adding new stretches wherever linkages are found missing,” an official said.

At a recent interaction with industry representatives organised by Round Table India, IT Minister K. T. Rama Rao made a mention of the project, while saying the new government was not going to be content with the ORR. “We want to expand the existing infrastructure in and around Hyderabad and are looking at the RRR that will come up in a radius of 60 km to 65 km from the city,” he said.

HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad said the work on preparing a design for the RRR was on and details of the land survey numbers through which the project criss-cross were identified. “Consultants have been appointed for the project and we will come up with a detailed project report soon so that required funding could be raised,” he said.