The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) has approved financing Jalna - Nanded Expressway to the tune of Rs 2,140 crore.
The Expressway project being planned for execution is by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). HUDCO is a central public sector undertaking that usually finances housing and urban infrastructure projects.
“For Jalna - Nanded Expressway, we have received approval from HUDCO on part financing of the project,” said Kailas Jadhav, Joint Managing Director, MSRDC.
Other than HUDCO debt support, the state government in three different tranches has earmarked about Rs 2,000 crore for the same project.
Prior to this, HUDCO had partly financed 701.15 km long Mumbai - Nagar Expressway, also known as Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg via the consortium was led by SBI Capital Markets.
This greenfield project which is in the planning stages is 179 km long and will have four-lane access control systems. An estimated Rs 14,500 crore is required for the project’s completion. Currently, land acquisition of 2,200 hectares is underway, which commenced back in December 2021. On paper, the project’s completion date is scheduled for October 2025.
This upcoming expressway will be connected with Mumbai - Nagpur Expressway and is likely to cut down road travel time by four hours, that is, from the existing 10 hours to just six hours. Those travelling to and from Pune and Aurangabad too would save travel time.
When completed, Jalna - Nanded Expressway is expected to bring in investments to the region of Jalna, Nanded, Hingoli, and Parbhani and support agro-industry, which in turn will generate employment opportunities.
The construction bids were to be invited earlier this year in March, but have got delayed and likely to be floated only after a few months.
At a later stage, there are plans to connect the expressway with Hyderabad.
