Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated or laid foundation stones of 34 road projects worth Rs 9,577 crore in Madhya Pradesh and said more such projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore will be sanctioned by the Centre for the state in the coming days. Gadkari inspected the progress of under-construction Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at Jaora in Ratlam district. He also inaugurated or laid foundation stones of 34 road projects worth Rs 9,577 crore in Madhya Pradesh.
These projects were linked to 1,356-km-long roads in Madhya Pradesh. Of these, a 168km stretch of Gwalior-Jhansi-Khajuraho road, constructed at a cost of Rs 2,209 core, was inaugurated. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the world’s longest highway having a total length of 1,350-km. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will pass through Madhya Pradesh (nearly 250km), while another high-speed road corridor, the 404-km Chambal Expressway will link far-flung areas of MP, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh portion of the eight-lane highway is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,500 crore, add reports. According to sources, the eight-lane Delhi-Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway would pass through western MP covering 102.4 km area stretch in Mandsaur, 90.1 km in Ratlam and 52 km in Jhabual.