MP: Gadkari lays foundation stones of Rs. 9,577cr-worth road projects
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of 34 road projects worth Rs. 9,577 crore in Madhya Pradesh and said more such projects worth Rs. one lakh crore will be sanctioned by the Centre for the state in the coming days. He also inspected the progress of the under-construction Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Jaora in Ratlam district.
So far Rs. 1.50cr have been sanctioned: Gadkari
"I have sanctioned Rs. 1.50 lakh crore for roads projects in Madhya Pradesh so far. I am going to sanction Rs. one lakh crore more for road projects in the coming days," he said.
Projects are linked to 1,356-km-long roads in MP: Officials
Officials said these projects were linked to 1,356-km-long roads in Madhya Pradesh. Of these, a 168 km stretch of Gwalior-Jhansi-Khajuraho road, constructed at a cost of Rs. 2,209 crore, was inaugurated. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took part in the function, while Union ministers from the state Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Virendra Kumar, and Prahlad Patel joined the event online.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the longest highway: Gadkari
Regarding the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Gadkari said, that it is the world's longest highway having a total length of 1,350 km. "I ran a vehicle at a speed of 160 km per hour on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway," he said.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is being built at cost of Rs. 95,000cr
Notably, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is built at a cost of Rs. 95,000 crore. It will pass through Madhya Pradesh (nearly 250km), while another high-speed road corridor, the 404-km Chambal Expressway will link far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. "The Madhya Pradesh portion of the eight-lane highway is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 8,500 crore," Gadkari said.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway would be completed by 2023: Officials
According to the officials, the eight-lane Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway would pass through western Madhya Pradesh covering a 102.4 km area stretch in Mandsaur, 90.1 km in Ratlam, and 5 km in Jhabua. They said that of the around 245 km of this road project in Madhya Pradesh, 106 km had been constructed and that the Expressway would be completed by 2023.
Here is what Gadkari tweeted
Expressway will reduce traveling time to 12 hours: Gadkari
Later in the day, Gadkari also reviewed the progress of a section of the Expressway, at Lohtaki village in the Sohna district of Haryana's Gurugram. Notably, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Gurugram Lok Sabha member Rao Inderjit Singh were also present at the event. Gadkari said that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will reduce travel between the cities to 12-12.5 hours.
