Cabinet approves 6-lane Nashik–Solapur–Akkalkot greenfield corridor at outlay of Rs 19,142 cr

Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw

• Cabinet approves Rs 19,142 crore Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot expressway project
• Travel time between Surat and Chennai to drop from 31 hours to 17 hours
• Project to generate about 251 lakh direct and 314 lakh indirect man-days of jobs

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Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw on Wednesday announced that the Cabinet approved the construction of 6-lane greenfield access-controlled Nashik- Solapur-Akkalkot Corridor in Maharashtra.

“The first project is a six-lane, access-controlled expressway connecting Nashik and Solapur. In a way, this represents the Golden Quadrilateral of a developed India. The Delhi–Mumbai corridor has already made significant progress, and this is the Mumbai–Chennai corridor. The section approved today runs from Nashik to Akkalkot. Beyond this, the corridor will further extend towards Kurnool, Kadapa and Chennai. What has been approved today is the Nashik–Solapur corridor," said Vaishnaw.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi, approved the project at a cost of Rs 19,142 crore.

The project involves construction of a six-lane access-controlled greenfield highway and forms part of the Surat–Chennai high-speed corridor, linking western India with the southern region.The corridor will pass through Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Dharashiv and Solapur districts, with a construction period of two years.

The project has been described as the largest-value BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) project ever taken up, and is expected to spur private investment.

According to NDTV,  the expected advantages for travellers will include the shortening of the distance between Nashik and Solapur from 432 km to 374 km which is about 14%. The average speed will also increase by 66.7% from 60 kmph to 100 kmph.

Time taken to travel between Surat and Chennai will also go down by 45% from 31 hours to 17 hours. The project is expected to facilitate heavy traffic between Surat, Vadodara and Mumbai towards Kurnool, Bengaluru and Chennai.

According to the government, the project is expected to significantly improve travel efficiency by reducing travel time by around 17 hours and shortening the travel distance by approximately 201 kilometres. It will also enhance logistics efficiency for freight movement, particularly for cargo linked to major National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) nodes such as Kopparthy and Orvakal.

In terms of employment generation, the project is estimated to create around 251 lakh man-days of direct employment and nearly 314 lakh man-days of indirect employment. Additional job opportunities are also expected to be generated through increased economic activity along the corridor.