As per the National Highways Authority of India’s timeline, 23 new highways, including a network of expressways and economic corridors, will be ready by March 2025. While four expressways, including Delhi-Mumbai, Ahmedabad-Dholera and Amritsar-Jamnagar, are scheduled for completion by March 2023, nine more will be ready by March 2024.
A status report prepared by NHAI shows nine other greenfield highways would be completed by March 2025. The combined length of these expressways is close to 7,800 km and would require an investment of approximately Rs 3.3 lakh crore in the next five years, according to an Economic Times report.
Officials told that the projects with 2023 and 2024 deadline would be bid out by next year. The development of new highways and expressways aims to ensure the seamless movement of people and cargo, including heavy vehicles.
The NHAI has also formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to fast-track the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project.
“NHAI has proceeded to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) company for financing, construction and operation of the Delhi-Mumbai ‘Greenfield’ Expressway,” the company said in a statement.
The SPV has been registered by the name of ‘DME Development Ltd’ and will be wholly owned by NHAI, it said. “By floating SPV specific to a corridor, the NHAI is aiming at diversifying its resource base and developing a sustainable and self-liquidating approach to raise finances,” it said.
Some Key highlights of the DME Highway project:
• Spanning 1,275 km, it will be an eight-lane expressway, with a provision to expand to 12-lanes in the future.
• With a design speed of 120 kilometres per hour, it is set to be India’s longest greenfield expressway. This means one can cover the Delhi to Mumbai stretch in roughly 11 hours via this route.
• A network of 75-way side amenities has also been planned on either side of the expressway, at an interval of 50 km.
• The project has a capital cost of Rs 82,514 crore which includes land acquisition cost of Rs 20,928 crore.
• The corridor is being executed in the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) mode and is projected to be completed by March 2024.
• The development of the Delhi – Mumbai expressway is estimated to generate employment of nearly 50 lakh man-days during the construction phase.
• It will also act as an alternative to the existing route along NH-48, which is longer (1,440 km) as well as more congested.
The NHAI is currently implementing about 28,000-km projects under ‘Bharatmala Pariyojna’ Phase-1. Under this, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of the flagship highways corridors.
Spanning 1,275 km, it will be an eight-lane expressway with provision to expand to 12-lanes in the future, with a design speed of 120 km/hr and will be India’s longest ‘Greenfield Expressway’.