PM Modi to inaugurate first section of Delhi-Mumbai expressway Sunday

PTI, Feb 11, 2023, 12:08 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Sunday, with the new stretch set to reduce the travel time from the national capital to Jaipur from five hours to around three and a half hours.

Developed at a cost of more than Rs 12,150 crore, this first completed section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

Modi will launch road development projects worth more than Rs 18,100 crore from Dausa and will visit Karnataka on Monday to inaugurate the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.

The PMO said Modi’s emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development and connectivity in ”New India” is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world class expressways across the country.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be the India’s longest with the length of 1,386 km. It will reduce travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent, from 1,424 km to 1,242 km, while the travel time will be cut by 50 per cent, from the current 24 hours to 12 hours, it said.

The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat.

It will also serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic Nodes, 13 ports, eight major airports and eight multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) along with spurs to new upcoming greenfield airports such as Jewar Airport, Navi Mumbai Airport and JNPT port.

It will have a catalytic impact in the developmental trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus contributing in a major way in the economic transformation of the country, the PMO said.

During the programme, Modi will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of national highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 5,940 crore.

About the prime minister’s programme in Bengaluru, the PMO noted that the theme of Aero India 2023 is ”The Runway to a Billion Opportunities”.

In line with Modi’s vision of ”Make in India, Make for the World”, the event will focus on displaying indigenous equipment, technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies, it said.

The prime minister’s emphasis on self-reliance in the Indian defence sector will also be displayed, as the event will showcase the country’s progress in design leadership, growth in UAVs sector, defence space and futuristic technologies.

Further, the event will promote export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), the PMO said.

The event will also help in integrating domestic MSMEs and start-ups in the global supply chain and attract foreign investments including the partnerships for co-development and co-production, it said.

The event will witness participation by more than 80 countries. Ministers of about 30 countries and 65 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are likely to participate in Aero India 2023.

Aero India 2023 exhibition will witness participation of more than 800 defence companies including around 100 foreign and 700 Indian, the PMO said.