Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway
Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor
Also known as NH 130CD and Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway
464 km
Being built
3 states
Expressway
Route
Raipur–Visakhapatnam Expressway runs 464 km from Abhanpur (near Raipur), Chhattisgarh to Sabbavaram (near Visakhapatnam), Andhra Pradesh.
Crosses Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Through Raipur, Dhamtari, Kanker, Kondagaon, Jeypore, Koraput and Visakhapatnam.
Why it matters
Chhattisgarh grows and mines a huge amount — rice, steel, coal, iron ore — but it is landlocked. This expressway gives the state a straight road to Visakhapatnam, the nearest big sea port, so goods can reach ships in hours instead of a full day. It also drops a modern highway right through the Bastar and Koraput tribal belt, which has some of the poorest road links in the country.
History
This new expressway is being built to give Chhattisgarh and southern Odisha a fast, direct road to Visakhapatnam and its big sea port. The current route between Raipur and Visakhapatnam winds for nearly 590 km, while the new corridor is a much straighter 464 km, expected to roughly halve the travel time. It was taken up under the Bharatmala programme as an economic corridor and numbered NH 130CD, and most construction packages were started in 2022. It runs through the hills and forests of the Bastar region and the Eastern Ghats, and includes a twin tunnel through the Keshkal ghat — the first highway tunnel in Chhattisgarh, holed through in October 2025. Building it has taken longer than planned because of forest clearances and the difficult hill terrain, so the original 2024 target slipped. As of mid-2026 it is still under construction, with the Chhattisgarh stretch furthest along and the Andhra Pradesh stretch trailing.
Good to know
- Designated NH 130CD, one of the Bharatmala economic corridors.
- Shortens the Raipur–Visakhapatnam road trip from about 590 km to about 464 km.
- Expected to roughly halve the travel time, to around 7 hours.
- Includes a 2.79 km twin-tube tunnel at Keshkal ghat — Chhattisgarh's first highway tunnel.
- Gives central India's mining and farming belt a faster link to Visakhapatnam port.
- Crosses three states: Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
- Being built at a cost of about ₹20,000 crore under Bharatmala.
- Runs straight through Bastar, one of the least road-connected parts of India.
Timeline
- 2022Construction begins on most packages
- 2025Breakthrough in the Keshkal ghat tunnel (October), Chhattisgarh's first highway tunnel
- 2026Several sections in final stages; NHAI is targeting completion by December
Key junctions
- Abhanpur (near Raipur) — the northern end, tying into NH 30 south of Raipur
- Sabbavaram (near Visakhapatnam) — the southern end, meeting NH 16 with a link on towards Visakhapatnam port
Engineering highlights
- Keshkal ghat twin tunnel — 2.79 km twin-tube tunnel through the Keshkal hills — the first highway tunnel built in Chhattisgarh; the tubes were holed through in October 2025
- Sunki ghat twin tunnels (Koraput district, Odisha) — a pair of six-lane tunnels of about 3.4 km and 2.8 km through the Eastern Ghats — Odisha's first highway tunnels
On the road
It is not open end to end yet, so you cannot drive it as one road. When it does open, NHAI expects Raipur to Visakhapatnam to take around 7 hours instead of the 10–12 hours the old route needs. Until then drivers use the two-lane NH 30 through Kanker and Jagdalpur, which is slow, winding and best not driven after dark.
What’s coming next
- The two Keshkal ghat tunnel tubes are due to open during 2026.
- NHAI is targeting December 2026 for the whole 464 km corridor to open to traffic.
More details
- Lanes
- 6 lanes, access-controlled
- Project cost
- About ₹20,000 crore