NHAI invites bids for Delhi-Katra expressway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited bids for the Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar-Amritsar-Katra Expressway stretch from Balsua in District Pathankot, Punjab, to Satwari up to the fourth Tawi Bridge in the Jammu City. The stretch is 97 km long, and the estimated cost is Rs 5,495 crore. The construction is most likely to be completed by 2024. The distance between Delhi to Amritsar/Katra will be reduced by the expressway by about 40 Km and let the commuters travel from Delhi to Katra within six to six and a half hours and Delhi to Amritsar within four to four and a half hours. It not only provides the shortest connectivity to the religious cities of Katra and Amritsar but also to the economic and industrial hubs of Ambala in Haryana, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, UT of Chandigarh, Mohali, Patiala, Jalandhar, in Punjab, and Kathua, Samba and Jammu in J&K. The Delhi-Katra Expressway is going to be a complete access controlled expressway with pay per use closed trolling concept. It will also be an environment-friendly expressway planned with a tree cover of about 10 lakh trees to improve carbon footprints. The work for the Forest and other statutory clearances is also in progress. While the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued land acquisition notification under the new proposal, the expressway is going to pass through 279 villages of the UT. Image SourceAlso read: NHAI invites bids for Delhi-Katra expressway phase-2 Also read: Delhi-Katra Expressway to slash travel time between Delhi and Vaishno Devi