Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project offers huge investment opportunities: Nitin Gadkari

The upcoming Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project offers huge investment opportunities for investors, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said urging players to invest in proposed townships, smart villages and wayside amenities.

The minister also exhorted industry players to look into the possibilities of setting up clusters of leather, plastic, chemical and other products along the greenfield highway that is expected to cut down the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to just 12 hours.

"The new alignment of the highway passes through most backward and tribal areas of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh...There are no industries there. It is time to decongest already developed areas. It offers industry players huge investment opportunities like setting up leather, plastic, chemical, etc clusters," the road transport and highways minister said.

These clusters will help in all-round development of the backward areas of these states, the senior minister said while interacting with members of Practising Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (PEATA) of India through video conferencing.

Gadkari, who also holds MSME portfolio, urged town planners and others to look into the possibilities of investing in smart cities and smart villages, along with 2,000 roadside amenities and logistic parks that are being planned along this highway.

He also stressed the need for low-cost housing projects along the expressway while utilising waste materials without compromising on the quality front.

"The government plans to complete this highway within three years and 32 of the total 60 packages (contracts) of this Rs 1 lakh crore highway project have already been awarded," he said.

Last month, the minister had said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was also looking into the possibility of building a smart township there and a cabinet note was floated for this.

Gadkari had said the government saved about Rs 16,000 crore on land acquisition front alone on the project on a new alignment and will pass through backward and far-flung tribal areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

A large number of road side amenities and other projects can be taken along the highways ushering in development of the areas, the minister had suggested.

There are several opportunities in logistics parks, smart cities, smart villages, cold storage, road construction where developers can and should focus and think of something innovative idea to start an economic activity, he said.