Here's when first phase of Delhi-Mumbai expressway is expected to be completed

Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that work on the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Express Highway is set to be completed this year itself. Through this highway, the government plans to connect Nariman Point in Mumbai to Delhi, making it a 12-hour journey. The minister spoke at the inauguration of the Organic Garden at RD and SH National College and SWA Science College in Mumbai.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will open for the public after March 2023. It will connect states like Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. This is going to be the first phase of the Indian government's ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana. This express is also believed to help the government coffer with a substantial amount of toll revenue.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of the most important projects undertaken by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in the last few years. Besides that, the road transport ministry is also looking to construct an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai at the cost of ₹2.5 lakh crore.

At the event, the minister also reiterated the significance of green fuels, saying that the Road Transport Ministry is working on the diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector since the year 2000. "We are making green fuels like ethanol from sugar cane which is cost-effective, pollution free and indigenous and hence helps in reducing import of fuels."

In a separate development, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), under its ambitious national road network project, is expected to take up the job of reducing the travel time between Mumbai to Bengaluru to not more than five hours. The distance between the business capital of India and the IT capital is 985 kms.