Cabinet approves six-laning of Handia-Varanasi section of national highway

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the six-laning of approximately 73-km Handia-Varanasi section of National Highway-2 in Uttar Pradesh.

The work will be carried out under the National Highways Development Project Phase-V.

"The approval is in Hybrid Annuity Mode at an estimated cost of Rs 2,147.33 crore, including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities," an official statement said.

The project will reduce time and cost on travel and traffic density on this stretch.

It will help in the socio-economic uplift of people living in certain regions of the state and increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities.

As many as 4,076 mandays are required for construction of one km of highway.