The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved conversion of the 101.24-km Bhuj-Naliya metre gauge railway line in Gujarat into broad gauge, along with its 24.65-km extension to Vayor. The project cost of Rs 318.24 crore will be shared by the Centre (Rs 238.24 crore as budgetary support) and by local cement companies operating in Kutch region that will lend Rs 80 crore.
The existing metre gauge Bhuj-Naliya link was constructed in the late 1980s on strategic consideration. After completion of gauge conversion of Ghandidham-Bhuj section, the MG section had become isolated and was closed for traffic, a government release said.
The gauge conversion will tap freight traffic of this rich mineral belt and cement industries of Kutch, besides connecting border areas of Gujarat with the rest of the country. Cement majors like Sanghi Cement and Jaypee Group have cement plants in the Kutch region.