MoRTH Begins Land Acquisition for ₹1,060 Crore NH-748 Bhoma–Old Goa Four-Laning Project
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has initiated land acquisition for the four-laning of the Bhoma–Old Goa stretch of National Highway 748. The process covers 8,863 sqm of private land spread across 42 wetland plots in Bhoma and Kundaim villages of Ponda taluka — 30 plots at Bhoma and 12 at Kundaim.
The 7-km stretch has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹1,060.2 crore and is planned to be executed under the hybrid annuity mode. The upgrade includes two elevated corridors totalling 4.2 km and 7-metre-wide service roads on both sides, converting the Panaji–Khandepar stretch into a continuous four-lane corridor with paved shoulders.
NH-748, formerly NH 4A, runs 153 km from NH 48 near Belagavi in Karnataka to NH 66 near Panaji, Goa, and serves as a key freight and passenger corridor connecting Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka to Goa. The project is intended to ease congestion in the Bhoma, Corlim, and Ella stretches, where the existing right-of-way is limited.
This sanction follows an earlier ₹557 crore allocation in October 2024 for the four-laning of the 9.6-km Ponda–Bhoma stretch on the same highway. Once both sections are completed, they will bridge the gap between the existing Khandepar–Ponda four-lane segment and the Ribandar bypass, forming a continuous four-lane link between Panaji and Belagavi.