Hyderabad,  The work on the Regional Ring Road (RRR) around Hyderabad will commence in three months, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Friday.

He said that the northern part of the RRR has already been sanctioned by the Centre and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is in the final stage of preparation. He also assured the Telangana government that the Centre will consider its request for sanctioning the southern part of the project.

Gadkari was speaking at a programme in Hyderabad for laying foundation stone and dedication to the nation of 12 national highways and 7 Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) projects.

The projects of a total length of 460 km are estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crore.

The Union Minister praised the Telangana government for its offer to bear 50 per cent cost of the acquisition of lands for the project.

He suggested to the state government to have planned cities, industrial clusters, logistic parks along the RRR and acquire lands for them. He pointed out that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is also developing logistic parks.

The proposed RRR Ring Road will traverse around Hyderabad at an average distance of 40 km to 50 km and it will have a length of about 340 km. The overall cost of the project will be Rs 16,003 crore.

Telangana's Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy said land acquisition work for the 158-km long northern part will be expedited and completed during the current financial year.

The southern part, which will be 182 km long, is yet to be notified as a National Highway by the Union Ministry.

Gadkari described Hyderabad as a world-class city in the information technology sector and a growth engine for the country. He said a lot of development is happening around the city.

He said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and $5 trillion economy is to be achieved, Telangana will also have to become a strong and prosperous state.

He assured that by the end of 2024, the road infrastructure of Telangana will be at par with the US.

He said from 2014 to 2024, a total amount of Rs 3 lakh crore would have been spent on national highway infrastructure in the state.

Stating that 26 green express highways are being developed in the country, he said 5 of them will pass through Telangana. the Indore-Hyderabad highway, which is 787 km long and being developed at a cost of 17,000 crore, will pass through Telangana to a length of 136 km.

Surat-Solapur-Kurnool-Chennai highway, being developed at a cost of 50,000 crore, will pass through Telangana to a length of 78 km.

Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam highway is being developed at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore while Rs 12,000 crore will be spent on the Nagpur-Vijayawada highway.