Revanth Reddy sought upgrades to the Bandar greenfield highway, along with metro, ring road, and railway projects, while urging improved dry port and rail connectivity to enhance Telangana’s trade potential
Revanth Reddy discusses various projects for Telangana with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Metro, roads, and rails
At the meeting, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy raised the issue of Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase II. Stating that they had completed Phase I, spanning 69 kilometres in three corridors, at the cost of ₹22,000 Crore, he stated that metro expansion is an urgent need. He also noted that no expansion had been taken up by the BRS regime.
Phase II has five Corridors covering 76.4 km. It will be a Joint Venture Project between the Government of India and the Government of Telangana at an estimated cost of ₹24,269 Crore. While the central government will bear 18 per cent of the cost, Telangana will bear 30 per cent, raising the remaining 48 per cent from debt.
He noted that the Telangana Government has submitted Phase-II proposals to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 4th November, 2024 and also responded to subsequent queries. He urged the Prime Minister to instruct the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to expedite the process.
The Government of Telangana had also proposed the two National Highways, which together make a ring around Hyderabad, dubbing it the Regional Ring Road.
It would consist of the Sangareddy (on NH 161) – Narsapur – Toopran- Gajwel Jagdevpur – Bhongir – Choutuppal (on NH 65) for the Northern Part. Chotuppal (on NH 65) – Amangal – Shadnagar – Sangareddy would make up the South part.
He noted that while 90 per cent of the land acquisition is done for the Northern part, they are still awaiting cabinet approval. Additionally, the processes for the Southern part shall be taken up after the Northern part is complete.
Alongside the Regional Ring Road, Revanth also took up the issue of the Regional Ring Railway at the meeting. The Railway line will form a ring around 370 km along the Regional Ring Road.
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Strengthening industries, focusing on Hyderabad and Bengaluru
Apart from the demands for major infrastructure projects like the metro, the Regional Ring Road, and the Regional Ring Railway, Revanth Reddy also asked that the green field highway from Bandar be enhanced. He also wished for better dry port-to-port and railway connectivity in the interest of boosting trade.
Boosting trade, in fact, was another key focus at the meeting. He stated that Telangana is fully aligned with India’s Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and aims to be a premier hub for advanced semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. He posited Hyderabad as a strong ecosystem for global R&D and manufacturing, citing the examples of AMD, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Foxconn, and Kaynes. He also stated that the state offers seismic safety, industrial land, a skilled workforce, and strong infrastructure, making it a prime location for semiconductor investments.
Aside from Semiconductors, Revanth Reddy also expressed interest in the growth of the defence sector in the state. He requested support for Defence Projects of both Defence PSUs and Private Sector Defence Joint Ventures, Capacity building of Defence MSMEs and Promotion of Defence Ecosystem in Hyderabad. He leveraged the fact that Hyderabad has emerged as the largest Make in India hub for aerospace and defence, backed by DRDO labs and over a dozen Defence PSUs, to push for the support
He also noted that industries are encouraged towards UP, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat & Andhra Pradesh, as against mature and rich ecosystems such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru. He requested official notification of Hyderabad-Bengaluru as a Defence Corridor for parity in support.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
