The Madhya Pradesh government is pushing ahead with a Rs 40 billion (Rs 40 bn) plan to build a new six-lane greenfield expressway linking the state capital Bhopal with commercial hub Indore. The project is intended to cut travel time between the two cities to around two to two-and-a-half hours from nearly four hours at present. Unlike an upgrade or widening of the existing Bhopal–Indore road, the corridor will be built on an entirely new alignment and officials have said the detailed project report and alignment have been approved. The corridor will broadly follow the aerial distance between Bhopal and Indore, which is around 160 km, and is being positioned as a high-speed regional link. The state government has placed the scheme among its priority infrastructure projects and is exploring executing the work on its own to accelerate implementation. The plan has assumed added significance with Ujjain set to host the Simhastha in 2028. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways initially proposed enhancing the existing route by adding two lanes, but the state is seeking a greenfield corridor citing faster and more efficient connectivity and the ability to bypass congested stretches and towns. Officials view the expressway as a component of a broader regional connectivity strategy for the Bhopal metropolitan region, intended to link surrounding towns, industrial areas, educational institutions and emerging economic centres. The new alignment is expected to avoid existing traffic bottlenecks and support smoother freight and passenger movement. The scheme is projected to strengthen links between Bhopal and Indore and to benefit investors, entrepreneurs, students, tourists and the general public, while creating opportunities for industrial, commercial and service-sector clusters along the alignment. The state government has indicated that proceeding with the project itself is aimed at avoiding delays and ensuring construction progresses within the required timeframe ahead of the 2028 Simhastha. Once implemented, the expressway would create a high-speed regional corridor connecting several of Madhya Pradesh’s key urban and economic centres and significantly reduce travel time between the two cities.