Amaravati: AndhraPradesh is set to emerge as the biggest beneficiary of the Raipur–Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor, a flagship greenfield highway project that promises to cut travel time to Visakhapatnam Port by more than half and unlock waves of industrial, logistical, and agricultural growth across the state. The corridor, being executed at a cost of Rs 16,482 crore, will cut the existing Raipur-Vizag route length from 597 km to 465 km. It is scheduled for completion by December 2026.

For Andhra Pradesh, the stakes are substantial. The state’s northern districts, including Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle, ASR and parts of Vizianagaram, stand to gain highly beneficial connectivity to the industrial belts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Officials said that the corridor would enable trucks, minerals, agri-produce and port-bound containers to reach Visakhapatnam in just five hours, instead of the current 12- 15 hours’ time, sharply reducing fuel consumption and transport costs as well.

The corridor could also strengthen Visakhapatnam’s position as the primary export gateway for central India. With direct, high-speed access to the port, steel, mining, paper and manufacturing units in the three states will depend more heavily on Vizag’s logistical backbone, giving Andhra Pradesh a competitive edge in port traffic and value-added services.

The potential impact on rural Andhra Pradesh is already evident. Land valuations along the alignment, particularly near ASR and Vizianagaram district boundaries, have surged as landowners expect future warehousing, cold-storage hubs, and ancillary industrial units’ activity.

The corridor is poised to also deliver a major inclusion push for tribal regions such as Araku, Ramabhadrapuram, and interior hill zones that have long suffered from poor market access. Improved mobility is expected to boost tourism, horticulture, forest-produce trade, and employment in these areas.

Built across 15 packages and designed for 100 kmph speeds, the six-lane access-controlled highway will also ease pressure on the congested two-lane NH-26. As work advances, Andhra Pradesh’s economic planners view the Raipur-Visakhapatnam Corridor not just as a road project, but as an essential backbone that reinforces Visakhapatnam’s strategic role, expands market reach for farmers, strengthens export pipelines, and positions the state strongly in the region’s next phase of growth.