E-Paper
'Thank you, Nitin Gadkari': Anand Mahindra's tweet on this 'economic highway'
The chairman of Mahindra Group said that the Delhi - Mumbai expressway will provide a huge fillip to GDP growth.
Industrialist Anand Mahindra on Monday lauded the new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway as the “most critical artery of India’s economic highway”. Retweeting Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s video showcasing India’s “premier engineering marvel”, the chairman of Mahindra Group said it will provide a huge fillip to GDP growth as it reduces the travel time on vital pathways.
“Well done and thank you, Nitin Gadkari," Mahindra added. Calling the DME expressway "a true example of world-class highway construction", Gadkari said that it will boost the economic activities in Delhi and Mumbai.
At 1,450 km in length, the expressway is expected to lessen travel time by half, reducing the transit time between the national capital and financial capital to 12 hours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the first leg - Sohna(Haryana)-Dausa(Rajasthan) section - expected to bring down the travel time of 280 km distance between Delhi and Jaipur to around two hours, on Saturday.
Poised to be the longest expressway of India, it is being built as part of the first phase of 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' and is estimated to be ready by March 2023. The eight-lane DME, expandable to 12 lanes, will also cover Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Set to be constructed at a staggering cost of ₹98,000 crore, work on the DME, which will shorten the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 130 km, started in 2018. According to the transport ministry, it is the first project in Asia and the second in the world to have 7 km animal overpasses for unhindered wildlife movement. The project will also encompass two 8-lane tunnels of 4 km each for eco-sensitive zones.
