Tripura Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha on Friday informed that all district headquarters, subdivision headquarters, and unconnected habitations will be connected to the national highways with double-lane roads.

He also informed that a ring road of approximately 449 km is proposed under the Bharatmala scheme for Agartala city.

Dr Saha said this while addressing the National Seminar on Infrastructure Development in the North East Region of India at Pragna Bhavan in Agartala on Friday.

He said that over the last seven years, the state government has spearheaded numerous ground-breaking initiatives resulting in a transformative impact on the socio-economic landscape of the state.

“Without infrastructure, nothing can be achieved. Infrastructure matters a lot for growth, which is widely recognized and is a key parameter for any state or region. Infrastructure is the mainstay of the primary sector, industries, services, skill development, and social empowerment.

If we talk about physical infrastructure like roads, airports, highways, power projects, water supply, and urban infrastructure all of these together hold the key to the growth of the northeastern region. At the Northeast Rising Summit 2025 in New Delhi on May 23, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech, mentioned that the Northeast means Ashtalakshmi because we have eight states,” said Dr Saha.

He said that a very important step has been taken by the Government of India by setting up the Ministry of DoNER for the overall development of the northeastern region.

“The northeastern region is often referred to as India’s powerhouse due to its massive hydropower, petroleum, and gas potential. The region can play a pivotal role in meeting India's clean energy targets. Tripura and the northeastern region are strategically located between Bangladesh and Southeast Asian countries, acting as a gateway. The Tripura government has placed significant emphasis on infrastructure development,” said D Saha.

He said this is evident from the fact that more than Rs 7,000 crore was allocated for infrastructure development in the previous budget session.

“In Tripura, the total road length under PWD is about 10,618.423 km, which includes 1,057 km of state highways, 171 km of major district roads, 483 km of other district roads, 1,167 km of urban roads, and 7,740 km of village roads. Tripura has a national highway network of about 923 km, with four additional highways declared in-principle for a length of about 229 km. Out of the 923 km of national highways, approximately 509 km have already been developed into double-lane roads with paved shoulders by 2025. We plan to upgrade 1,057 km of state highways into double-lane roads with paved shoulders in a phased manner,” said Dr Saha.

He reiterated that all district headquarters, subdivision headquarters, and unconnected habitations will be connected to national highways with double-lane roads.

“A ring road of approximately 449 km is proposed under the Bharatmala scheme for Agartala city. The proposed alignment includes the Agartala Bypass from Khayerpur-Amtali, Eastern Bypass from Lembuchara-Khayerpur, and Western Bypass from Lembuchara to Amtali. Construction of multiple flyovers in Agartala and Udaipur has also been planned to enhance urban mobility and reduce traffic congestion. In the first phase, a flyover from Radhanagar to IGM Hospital will be undertaken. Seven bypass roads are also proposed for Kumargarh, Dhanpur, Manu, Ambassa, Teliamura, Ranirbazar, and Jirania, where national highways pass through the towns,” said Dr Saha.

He also informed that the Light House Project is on the verge of completion.

“We are also constructing the Unity Mall and a number of high-rise buildings for various departments. In this way, we are developing infrastructure in Tripura to bring the North Eastern region on par with other parts of the country,” he added.

Engineer O.P. Goel, Founder President of Indian Building Congress, Engineer Chinmay Debnath, President of Indian Building Congress, Engineer Rajiv Dabbrama, Chief Engineer of PWD, Engineer Shyamlal Bhowmik, Chairman of Indian Building Congress, and others were present.