Overview
- The Union Cabinet approved a 374 km, six-lane, access-controlled Nashik–Solapur–Akkalkot greenfield corridor in Maharashtra at ₹19,142 crore on BOT (toll) mode, described as the largest-value BOT project taken up.
- The corridor will plug into the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, the Agra–Mumbai corridor at Nashik (NH-60 Adegaon) and the Samruddhi Mahamarg, with onward integration to ongoing Chennai–Hasapur links for west–east connectivity.
- Officials project travel-time savings of about 17 hours and distance savings of 201 km on connected routes, with the Surat–Chennai journey cut from roughly 31 hours to about 17 hours.
- Scope includes 27 major bridges, 164 minor bridges, a 5.6 km viaduct, road-over-bridges, interchanges and rest areas; construction is slated to begin after 90% land is available, with clearances largely secured and an about two-year build target cited.
- The Cabinet also cleared widening and strengthening of Odisha’s NH-326 (Mohana–Koraput) at approximately ₹1,526 crore in EPC mode to fix sub-standard geometry, enhance safety and improve links to NH-26, NH-59, NH-16 and the Raipur–Visakhapatnam corridor, with a 24-month completion target.