In a welcome news for commuters travelling between Mumbai and Pune, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that a new Mumbai-Pune highway will be constructed, reducing the travel time considerably to just one and a half hours. The minister also stressed that huge infrastructure work worth Rs 2 lakh crore is being undertaken around Pune and expressed how challenging it was to acquire land for the expansion of Pune airport.
While speaking at the Lokmanya Tilak National Award ceremony in Maharashtra’s Pune, Gadkari said, “In my previous visit, I had declared that the Union Government would undertake road and highway construction projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in Pune district. I have asked the Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to hold a foundation laying function in the next 15 days in which work on projects worth Rs 15,000 crore would be started.”
“Also, by the end of December this year, work of Rs 50,000 crore will also be started and studies are underway for more work of Rs 15,000 crore to be taken up”, Gadkari added.
Gadkari also mentioned that a private company had quoted Rs 3,600 crore for the Mumbai-Pune Expressway; however, the tender was rejected as it was ‘expensive’. Later, it was decided to get the project done by the state government itself.
The upcoming Mumbai-Pune highway is expected to:
- Reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Pune to 1.5 hours
- Tackle the issue of congestion on existing expressways and highways
- Ensure that Mumbai-Pune travel takes place in almost 5 hours
- Contribute significantly to economic growth along the proposed stretch
Talks About Atal Setu
In his remarks, Gadkari also noted that the idea of Atal Setu originated during his first term as a cabinet minister. The bridge was later constructed under Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s leadership.
