NHAI starts construction of ₹14,000-cr NH project

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started construction work on the 457-km long Vijayawada-Nagpur Express Highway. The ₹14,000 crore Greenfield-Brownfield Express Highway will connect Vidarbha in Maharashtra and further accelerate transportation of industrial and agricultural products. The NHAI had already approved a plan to build the national highway for which feasibility report and DPRs have been finalized. The Vijayawada-Nagpur Express Highway will be constructed under five packages whereby Vijayawada-Khammam, Khammam-Warangal, Warangal-Manchiryala packages will be constructed as Greenfield Express Highways and Manchiryala-Repallewada, Repallewada Chandrapur packages will be built as Brownfield Express Highways. The road connects Chandrapur to Nagpur with the existing 4-lane Express Highway and 310 km of Greenfield and 147 km of Brownfield Express Highway are being developed. This highway will greatly reduce the cost and hassle of traveling between Vijayawada and Nagpur. Currently, the distance between Vijayawada and Nagpur is 770 km via Hyderabad and Adilabad and it takes about 13 hours to cover the distance. The new express highway will be constructed from Vijayawada via Khammam, Warangal and Mancherial reducing the distance between Vijayawada and Nagpur by 163 km with five hours of travel time. NHAI has expedited consultations with the AP, Telangana and Maharashtra governments on the land acquisition process.