Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Nagpur in October for laying the foundation stone of the 744-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway that the state government has fast-tracked as it con
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Nagpur in October for laying the foundation stone of the 744-km-long Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway that the state government has fast-tracked as it connects the financial capital with the hometown of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The state government has already set itself an ambitious deadline of completing construction of the expressway by 2019, with Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) appointed as implementing agency of the project. “The state government has requested that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s office be present for the bhoomi pujan ceremony of the expressway that is now scheduled for October 31, 2016,” said a bureaucrat.
MSRDC is currently in the process of preparing the detailed project report (DPR) which is expected to be ready by the last week of September or first week of October this year. The state has proposed infrastructure like that of logistic, agricultural, industrial and educational hubs along the expressway that passes through backward regions of the state such as Sinnar, Jalna, Shendra, Waluj, Wardha and Amravati.
The expressway will have six lanes along with two additional service roads. The entire corridor is expected to cut down the time taken to travel between Mumbai and Nagpur from the current 15 to 17 hours to 10 hours.
The bureaucrat added, “The cabinet will soon approve the project after which the bhoomi pujan will be conducted in the presence of the CM, Mr Gadkari and the PM from the Nagpur end where the expressway starts.” The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 30,000 crore for which the state government is seeking loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
