Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Thursday that the Chennai-Bengaluru greenfield expressway is expected to be completed by December this year. The expressway, spanning 262 kilometers, aims to reduce the travel distance between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu capitals by 13 percent, ultimately slashing travel time to just two hours from the current six to seven hours.
Gadkari emphasised the importance of cooperation from the Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments to ensure the availability of construction materials such as aggregates and fly ash for ongoing projects by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). "We are committed to finishing the highway before December. Our aim is to connect Chennai and Bengaluru in just two hours," Gadkari said in Lok Sabha.
Gadkari highlights challenges faced by NHAI in highway construction in Tamil Nadu
Gadkari also briefed the House on his discussions with Chief Minister M K Stalin, highlighting the challenges faced by NHAI in highway construction within Tamil Nadu. He stressed the crucial need for construction materials to meet project demands, steering clear of political discourse.
Touching upon the NH-774 greenfield highway linking Kollam in Kerala to Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Gadkari revealed that the Kerala government had agreed to cover 25 percent of the land acquisition costs, a reduction from the earlier commitment of 50 percent. He mentioned awaiting a formal response from the Kerala government on this matter.
When asked by RSP member NK Premachandran about the Centre's stance if the state government declined to contribute its share, Gadkari clarified that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had agreed to the proposed terms, awaiting a formal response from the Kerala government.
