Union minister for surface transport and roadways Nitin Gadkari is set to visit Siliguri next week to launch the construction of the proposed 13km four-lane elevated road along NH10 in the northern end of the city.

The visit is being seen as a part of the BJP’s plan to drive home the point that the party is keen on executing major infrastructure projects in north Bengal.

“The central government has sanctioned around Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 980 crore) for the road project that will ease traffic congestion, a perennial problem of Siliguri. The tender process is in progress and in all likelihood, Union minister Nitin Gadkari will be here on November 17 to initiate the project,” said Raju Bista, the Darjeeling MP.

He was talking to newspersons at Bagdogra airport on Tuesday before leaving for Delhi. A stretch of NH10, which connects Asian Highway II on the right bank of the Balason river (located in the northwest of Siliguri) with Sevoke Military Station in the northeast of the city, will be widened as part of the project.

The particular stretch passes through Darjeeling More, the principal entry point of Siliguri. The project also envisages the construction of bridges and flyovers along the 13km stretch.

That the BJP is focusing on infrastructure in the region became clear when Bista said the expansion of the Bagdogra airport, for which around Rs 1,800 crore had been sanctioned, would also commence in another three-four months.

“The designing work is in progress. Once it is complete, the expansion will commence. This will be yet another important infrastructure which will come up in north Bengal,” the MP added.

In the region, a number of infrastructural projects are coming up and the BJP government at the Centre plans to complete them before the 2024 general election.

They include the Sevoke-Rangpo railway link which is expected to be ready by December next year, NH717A — an alternative highway to Sikkim and Kalimpong — and the four-lane expressway along NH27 that enters Assam.