Key stretch of 1,386km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway launched

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a 246 kilometre long section of what is to be India’s longest expressway, with a total length of 1,386 kilometres.

He also laid the foundation stone for road projects worth more than INR 18,100 crores, in the Rajasthani city of Dausa. The section inaugurated was developed at a cost of more than INR 12,150 crores, an Asian News International report added. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for 247 kilometres of National Highway projects, which will be developed at a cost of more than 5,940 crore.

The opening of the new section will reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from five hours to around 3.5 hours and will provide a major economic and development boost to the entire region, it continued. Once complete, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will reduce the travel distance between the two economic hubs by 12%, from 1,424 kilometres, to 1,242 kilometres, while travel time will be cut by 50% to 12 hours from 24 hours.

The expressway will pass through six state – Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. It will also connect major cities such as Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara, and Surat.

During the inauguration, the Prime Minister highlighted that when modern roads, railway stations, railway tracks, Metro and airports are constructed, the country’s development gains momentum. He also highlighted the multiplier effect of the investment on infrastructure.

“For the last 9 years, the Central Government is also continuously making huge investments in infrastructure”, the Prime Minister remarked.

Engine of Growth

In this year’s budget, the Prime Minister added that there has been an allocation of 10 lakh crores for infrastructure which is five times more than the allocation in 2014. He underlined that the poor and middle class from Rajasthan will greatly benefit from these investments. He also underscored the benefits of investment in infrastructure on the economy and said that it creates employment and connectivity.

The Prime Minister stated that when investments are made in highways, railways, ports, airports, optical fibre, digital connectivity, construction of pucca houses and colleges, every section of the society gets empowered.

The expressway will also serve 93 Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight major airports, and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs), along with spurs to new and upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport, and JNPT Port.

“The Prime Minister’s emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development, and connectivity in New India is being realised by the construction of a number of world-class expressways across the country,” the Prime Minister’s Office added in conclusion.