Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway gets Rs 5,000 cr loan from state public enterprises

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has received a Rs 5,000 crore loan from five state agencies for the construction of Mumbai-Nagpur expressway, media reports said on Friday. After construction, the expressway will reduce the travel time between the two cities to six hours against the current 13 hours.

The state-level public enterprises which have invested in MSRDC include Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and  Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The 700-km Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway is a dream project of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

A senior bureaucrat said that the project will connect 10 districts and the work on it will start by October 1. The project is set to be completed within 30 months. As per the plan, the highway will be thrown open to public before April 30, 2021.

“The sum of Rs 7,500 crore has been paid for the land acquisition, which at the beginning faced hurdles but now appears to be a smooth affair,” said the bureaucrat.