New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to invest Rs 3.1 lakh crore to construct 22 new (Greenfield) expressways with a view to decongest metros.
The plan includes six expressways of total length of 2,250 kilometers and an investment of Rs 1.45 lakh crore. There will also be 16 new corridors of total length of 5,250 kilometers with an investment of Rs 1.65 lakh crore, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Construction has already been started for three of the 16 corridors. This includes the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, Trans Rajasthan and Trans Haryana corridors and will be completed by 2022.
These expressways and corridors will provide alternate routes to disburse traffic and reduce both distance and travel time. This would also improve infrastructure in remote areas and provide better connectivity.
All these projects would be part of the Bharatmala Project that the present NDA government announced in its first term.
In its second innings, the NDA government has outlined an infrastructure push of Rs 100 lakh crore in the country in the next 5 years. This investment will be made by in the ratio of 39:39:22 by central government, state government and private entities.