The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra plans to build a new expressway connecting Mumbai with Sindhudurg via Raigad and Ratnagiri.
Dubbed as Greenfield Konkan Expressway and planned on the lines of Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samrudhi Marg that will connect Nagpur with Mumbai, the public works department, led by senior Congress leader and former CM Ashok Chavan, has drafted an ambitious Rs 70,000 crore plan for constructing a 400 km expressway.
It is reported that this expressway would reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Sindhudurg to three to four hours from the current six to seven hours.
“The detailed project report is expected to be completed in two years. It will take another four years to complete the project, which will require 4,000 hectares of land,” a senior bureaucrat told The Times of India.
Despite its proximity to Mumbai, the Konkan region relatively lacks development due to poor transport and communication networks.
“Several people from the Konkan region are moving to Mumbai in search of livelihood. The Konkan Expressway will contribute to the development of the region in a big way,” he said.