Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature on Friday that the project, which will also have IT parks, smart cities, and educational institutions wherever possible, will bring down travelling time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just 10 hours.
The state government will undertake work on a six-lane and 800-km 'communication super express way' linking Mumbai with the state's second capital of Nagpur via the backward regions of Maharashtra.
The ambitious Rs30,000 crore regional development project will be an 'access controlled road' (like the Mumbai- Pune expressway, work on which began during the erstwhile Shiv Sena- BJP government's regime), and run through Ghoti, near Nashik, Aurangabad and Amravati. The much-delayed infrastructure project will be undertaken in partnership with the Centre and be executed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). An ambitious target of September 2019 has been set for completing most works.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature on Friday that the project, which will also have IT parks, smart cities, and educational institutions wherever possible, will bring down travelling time between Mumbai and Nagpur to just 10 hours. Fadnavis added that it would also have an optical fiber network (OFN), CCTVs and WiFi to ensure modern communication facilities.
The expressway will pass through areas which have a developmental backlog and will touch cities in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. It is envisaged to take development beyond the traditional 'golden corridor' of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik and link regional headquarters like Nagpur, Amravati and Aurangabad to Mumbai.
The work will be undertaken in two phases, and in the first phase, land acquisition will be completed and four-laning will be done. In the second phase, a six-lane concrete road with service roads wherever necessary, bypass roads for important villages and cities, vehicle subways and flyovers will be constructed, with important works being completed by September 2016.
Speaking to reporters later, senior NCP MLA and former finance minister Jayant Patil pointed out that public works (public undertakings) minister Eknath Shinde did not have any answers regarding questions like the project's financing and whether road users would have to pay toll.
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