In Punjab, the 6-laning and upgradation work on a section of National Highway-54 covering over 27 kilometres in length, connecting Jodhpur Romana village in Bathinda to Mandi Dabwali in Sirsa (Haryana), has been substantially completed. This project forms an integral part of the Amritsar- Bathinda- Jamnagar Economic Corridor, which is a strategically significant corridor to strengthen economic connectivity between Punjab and Western India.

Developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a project site visit was conducted by the officials yesterday to review the progress and implementation of the project. NHAI sources told Akashvani that out of the total project length of 27.4 km, only 0.310 km remains to be completed due to a pending land acquisition issue, which is being resolved amicably with the support of the state government.

This corridor holds immense economic importance as it serves several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and proposed industrial clusters in Punjab, including 8 in the industrial city of Ludhiana and 9 in Jalandhar, which is majorly known for sports goods, hand tools and the leather industry.

By providing seamless connectivity to these industrial hubs, the project is expected to facilitate smoother movement of goods, reduce logistics costs, promote industrial growth and investment in the region and generate employment opportunities.

In addition to economic benefits, the project significantly enhances connectivity to important religious and tourist destinations, including Amritsar, Sultanpur Lodhi and Talwandi Sabo supporting tourism and cultural exchange.