Union ministers lay foundation stone for Dwarka expressway

Moneycontrol News 

Union minister for Road transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari along with Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj laid foundation stone for the much awaited and delayed Dwarka expressway on March 8.

"All tenders for Dwarka expressway have almost been awarded and the construction work will start very soon," Gadkari said.

The expressway is expected to provide faster connectivity between Delhi and Gurgaon by bypassing existing NH8. The Rs 9,500 crore expressway will be 29 kilometres long, of which 18.9 km lies in Haryana while the remaining falls in Delhi.

"I am sure, once the project is complete, all the people travelling between Dwarka and Gurugram on regular basis will be extremely benefitted," said Manohar Lal Khattar, chief minister, Haryana.

"The expressway once completed will provide alternate connectivity to Indira Gandhi International Airport through a shallow tunnel," statement by the ministry said.

The initial concept for the 18-km Dwarka expressway, connecting NH-8 at Kherkidhaula with Delhi suburban town Dwarka, was given in 2007 and its construction was started in 2009 with a completion time of 36 months.

The expressway will be constructed in five packages including package I of 5.9 km (Shiv murti to Dwarka sector 21), package II of 4.2 km (Dwarka sector 21 to Delhi-Haryana border), package III of 10.2 km (Delhi-Haryana border to Basahi ROB), package IV (Basahi ROB to Kherki-Dhaula toll plaza on NH8) and package V to connect IGI airport with Dwarka expressway through a 8 lane shallow tunnel.

While laying the foundation stone for the expressway, Jaitley said that the expressway will open newer avenues for industrial development in the entire region and will support overall development.

Apart from this, Gadkari said that numerous projects are being implemented to decongest the national capital and resolve its air and water pollution.

"While We 55,000 crore worth of projects are being implemented, excluding the expressways, we have taken up projects worth Rs 1.4 trillion in the last five years in Delhi," Gadkari said.

These include the 3-km signal free corridor from Dhaula – Kuan to Airport at a cost of Rs 280 crore, the 22 km, 6-lane elevated corridor on Gurugram-Sohna Road costing Rs 2,000 crore, 8-lane Delhi-Panipat highway being constructed at a cost of Rs 2,300 crore, package II, III and IV of Delhi-Meerut Expressway costing Rs 5,900 crore, 4 laning of 124 km Khekra – EPE junction to Shamli-Saharanpur (NH-709 B) at a cost of about Rs 1200 crore, Rangpuri Bypass to connect Dwarka/NH-08 with Vasant Kunj-Nelson Mandela Road at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, 75 km Urban Extension Road (UER-2) third Ring Road for Delhi under Bharatmala to be developed at a cost of Rs 4000 crore which is in DPR stage and the 31.3 km, 6-lane access controlled corridor from Akshardham NH24 Junction to EPE Junction on Baghpat Road at a cost of about Rs 2,600 crore.