What happened (CCEA approval and project outline)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ proposal for the Guwahati–Tezpur Corridor on NH-15. The approved project is a 135.87-km four-lane, access-controlled highway linking Baihata Chariali near Guwahati with Tezpur on the NH-15 alignment. The project scope excludes the 15.11-km Mangaldoi Bypass.
The project will be developed under the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll mode, with a total capital cost of ₹8,970.20 crore. The government stated that the corridor will strengthen economic and connectivity links across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and support faster, safer movement of passengers and freight.
Background and earlier position (connectivity challenge across the Northeast)
The Guwahati–Tezpur corridor is positioned as a key link inside the larger North East highway connectivity chain that connects Guwahati in Assam with Itanagar and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. The approved corridor is also expected to complement and relieve pressure on the existing NH-27 East–West Corridor along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra by decongesting through traffic.
The project also targets improvements to access for multiple node types across the region—economic, social, logistics, and tourist nodes—so that highway connectivity supports trade routes, tourism sites, and everyday access in the North East.