The government will soon take up construction of a 630-km North East highway corridor linking Siliguri in West Bengal with Guwahati in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday. The project is estimated to cost Rs 61,500 crore and will combine new greenfield stretches with upgrades to existing highways.
The corridor is planned in three sections. The first will cover the 400-km route between Siliguri and Guwahati, with an estimated investment of Rs 30,000 crore. Gadkari said the alignment for this section is awaiting approval. He described the route as a “lifeline” for the North East and said it was proposed to improve connectivity between West Bengal and the region, including the strategically important Siliguri corridor, commonly known as the Chicken’s Neck.
The second section will connect Jorabat in Guwahati with Barapani in Shillong through a greenfield road. According to Gadkari, the project will reduce the existing distance from 100 km to 66 km and cut travel time from around two-and-a-half hours to one hour.
The third section is a 165-km greenfield highway between Shillong and Silchar. Gadkari said the work order for this section is expected to be issued in November. The road will reduce the current distance between the two locations from 230 km to 165 km, while travel time is expected to fall from eight hours to four hours.
The highway announcement is part of a wider expansion of road infrastructure in the North Eastern Region. Gadkari said 265 projects covering around 4,700 km are currently being undertaken in Assam at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore. Another 31 projects covering approximately 1,470 km have been planned at an estimated cost of Rs 92,000 crore.
Government data cited in the report shows that cumulative spending on development in the North Eastern Region reached Rs 6.11 lakh crore between 2014-15 and 2024-25, against a cumulative revised estimate allocation of Rs 6.02 lakh crore. The National Highway network in the region expanded from 10,905 km in 2014 to 16,207 km as of March 31, 2025.
Rural road connectivity has also expanded through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The scheme resulted in the construction of 46,296 km of rural roads across the region over the past decade, involving expenditure of Rs 47,279 crore.
The connectivity push extends beyond highways. Annual railway-sector allocations for the North Eastern Region have increased from Rs 2,122 crore during the 2009-14 period to Rs 10,440 crore in 2025-26. Railway projects under implementation include the 51-km Bhairabi-Sairang New Line, the 112-km Agartala-Sabroom New Line, the 5-km Agartala-Akhaura New Line, the 111-km Jiribam-Imphal New Line and the 27-km Murkongselek-Pasighat New Line.
Air connectivity has also been expanded under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, or UDAN. The scheme has identified airports and routes across the North-Eastern states, including Pasighat, Tezu, Hollongi, Jorhat, Lilabari, Rupsi, Tezpur, Dimapur, Shillong and Pakyong. A total of 90 routes have been operationalised under the scheme. For the highway corridor, the immediate milestones are alignment approval for the Siliguri-Guwahati section and the expected November work order for the Shillong-Silchar stretch.
