Odisha Budget 2025: Outer Ring Road, other projects on cards to decongest Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Identifying the rising traffic congestion in Bhubaneswar, Odisha government conceptualised a Comprehensive City Road Decongestion Plan to ease traffic flow and improve mobility, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said in his annual budget speech on Monday.

“As part of transformative redevelopment plan to modernise key infrastructure, Outer Ring Road of Bhubaneswar and other vital projects costing more than Rs 13,000 crore would be taken up,” the CM expressed in the House of the Legislative Assembly.

Additionally, a state-wide Road Network Improvement Plan has been meticulously designed to strengthen connectivity and stimulate economic growth across Odisha. These projects mark a significant step toward building a future-ready Odisha, ensuring seamless mobility, robust infrastructure, and sustainable urban growth.

Moreover, State Highways in Odisha would be converted to four-lane standards for better road connectivity. Major District Roads and Other District Roads would be developed to two-lane standards under Road Development Programme (RDP).

The CM proposed Rs 6,502 Crore under Road Development Programme for improvement of 3,000 Km road and development of Berhampur-Jeypore six-lane Green Field Expressway. Further, connectivity to major tourist destinations, ports, railway stations and airports with four-lane standard roads, and six-lane roads to industrial and mining clusters would also be taken up under the RDP.

Notably, to unlock Odisha’s full potential, Chief Minister Majhi proposed a series of strategic road projects that will enhance the connectivity between major ports and districts with hinterlands. These include the Atal Expressway linking Motu in Malkangiri to Tiring in Mayurbhanj, along with critical road corridors such as Jharsuguda-Balasore, Nuapada-Astarang, Brundabahal-Gopalpur, Berhampur-Jeypore, Jeypore-Rourkela, and Rourkela-Jaleswar.

The aforesaid ‘transformative infrastructure projects’ are aimed not only to strengthen the State’s logistics network but also to fuel industrial expansion, trade, and employment, bringing it closer to its vision of Bikashita Odisha, a prosperous and self-reliant one.