Maharashtra plans Konkan Expressway construction at Rs 70k cr

The public works department, led by senior Congressman Ashok Chavan, has proposed a Rs 70,000 crore plan to build a 400 km road connecting Mumbai and Sindhudurg via Raigad and Ratnagiri. The project will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Sindhudurg from six to seven hours to three hours when completed. Last year, the government asked the Maharashtra state road development corporation (MSRDC) to prepare a detailed project report, according to an order posted on the public works department's website on September 6. On August 25, the proposal was approved by the CM's high-level infrastructure committee. Officials told the media that the E-way will boost coastal development. A senior bureaucrat told the media that the Greenfield Konkan Expressway, as it will be known, is expected to cost Rs 70,000 crore. In two years, the detailed project report should be completed. The project, which will require 4,000 hectares of land, will take another four years to complete. The Greenfield Konkan Expressway, according to the bureaucrat, will be built along the lines of the Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samrudhi Marg, which will connect Nagpur and Mumbai. The bureaucrat told the media that the project was discussed in both houses of the state legislature, and it was suggested that the MSRDC be in charge of it because of its expertise in the field. The project's goal is to help the Konkan region develop further. Mumbai is India's commercial and financial capital, but despite its proximity to the city, the Konkan region has seen little development due to a poor transportation and communication network. Image Source Also read: Government laid 3,385 km national highways in FY22: MoRTH