Govt to launch 3 expressway projects at cost of Rs 1.3L cr: Gadkari

New Delhi: Government will soon launch three expressway projects -- Delhi-Amritsar-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai -- soon at a cost of about Rs 1,32,000 crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Thursday said.

"We will soon start three important expressway projects that would reduce travel time significantly between Delhi-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai. These would entail a total project cost of Rs 1,32,000 crore," road transport and highways minister Gadkari said here.

He hoped that the travel distance to these destinations will reduce significantly once the projects are operationalised.

As per the plan, Amritsar could be reached via Delhi in up to 3 hours after completion of the Rs 60,000-crore Amritsar-Delhi expressway, which will reduce travel duration by over two hours.

Also on the anvil is a project connecting Jalandhar to Ajmer that will bring down the travel time to 5 hours.

Meetings in this regard are scheduled with chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Yesterday, the minister in the poll-bound Punjab laid the foundation stones of 12 major NH projects worth Rs 10,596.19 crore at Ropar, Samrala and Jalandhar in the state.

The road projects also include four-laning of Jalandhar-Barnala, Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur, Ropar-Phagwara, Kharar-Kurali, Chandigarh-Kharar and Kharar-Ludhiana roads, besides an elevated road in Ludhiana city.

The projects will provide world-class road connectivity to commuters between Doaba and Malwa, along with adjoining Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, in the next 2 years, Gadkari said.

Chandigarh will also be connected with 4-lane roads with all major cities such as Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.