The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will start construction of the proposed Mumbai-Delhi Expressway by December, Union Minister for Road Transport, Shipping and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. The highway will be ready for use in three years, he added. Gadkari, who addressed the media at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Navi Mumbai, said that while the first tender for the highway has been floated, the actual groundwork will start by December 10. The expressway, to be built at a cost of about Rs 1 lakh crore, will connect India’s two most backward districts, Mewat (Haryana) and Dahod (Gujarat). “Commuters using the expressway would be able to reach Delhi or Mumbai within 12 hours, from the 24 hours taken at present. The expressway will develop the hinterland in Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh and foster growth in these regions. As the expressway will pass through unexplored regions, land acquisition cost will also be reduced. We are sure to start work on the expressway before December 10,” Gadkari said. The first tender for the project worth Rs 44,000 crore between Mumbai and Vadodara has been floated. Gadkari said the second tender for the stretch between Delhi-Amritsar was floated two days ago. “We will float the second tender for the highway soon. As the highway will connect to JNPT, it will help goods transporters to commute faster between the two cities.” He added that the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments will sign the memorandum of understanding to build the 339-km Indore-Manmad railway line, worth Rs 10,000 crore, on August 28. Also, a cruise ferry between Mumbai and Goa will be inaugurated on October 1. “We have collected close to Rs 150 crore under the ‘Clean Ganga’ mission for cleaning Ganga. We plan to appeal to at least 1 crore citizens to donate funds online for the mission,” he added. The JNPT will record traffic of over 1 crore containers by 2022 and a profit of Rs 16.5 crore by the end of the financial year 2018-19, Gadkari said.
