In a positive development, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) starts work on the landmark 263 kilometres long four-lane expressway between Bengaluru and Chennai, reports Times of India.
NHAI has invited bids for the building of a package under the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway and the work on the same is expected to begin by February or March 2021. The entire project has been broken down into ten packages and is aimed to be completed by March 2024.
Of the ten packages, three lie in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, while four packages lie in Tamil Nadu. The entire project will be executed at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore and once completed it will enable the commute between Bengaluru and Chennai to be completed in just two-and-a-half hours.
It should be noted that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had told the representatives of FICCI last week that he has asked Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to lay the foundation of the project.
The project marks the first expressway project in South India and it shall give a big fillip to the logistics movement given both Bengaluru and Chennai are home to upcoming logistics parks.