Bhubaneswar: Odisha will construct 75,000 kilometres of roads over the next five years, announced Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Thursday while addressing a press conference ahead of the 84th Annual Session of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) in Bhubaneswar.
Harichandan said the massive infrastructure push reflects the state’s commitment to improving connectivity, especially in rural and industrial areas. He added that the IRC conference will serve as a vital platform for knowledge exchange among experts and engineers in the road sector.
The 84th IRC Session, being held at Janata Maidan, marks the sixth time Odisha is hosting the prestigious event since the organization’s inception in 1934 and the first time in a decade, after 2015. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the four-day conference on Friday.
The event has drawn over 3,500 delegates, including engineers, policymakers, and industry experts from across India, who will deliberate on the theme “Major Advances in Highway Technology and Policy.”
A major attraction of the session is the ‘Open-to-Sky’ Exhibition, featuring live demonstrations of modern road-building technologies such as mechanized mastic asphalt, fly ash utilization, porous concrete, and Nano-Modified Bitumen (NMB).
Key meetings during the conference include the 235th IRC Council Meeting and the 85th Indian Roads Research Board Meeting, alongside sessions with government officials, research institutions, and multilateral agencies.
The inaugural ceremony will be attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Ministers Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra, and Madhya Pradesh Public Works Minister Rakesh Singh, among others.
Reflecting the state’s hospitality, organizers have arranged accommodations in 30 hotels with 800 rooms and deployed 900 vehicles for delegate transport. The event will conclude with post-conference tours to Puri and Konark, blending professional exchange with a glimpse of Odisha’s rich cultural heritage.
