India's national highway network to be equivalent to US by 2024 end: Gadkari

India's national highway network will be equivalent to the road network of the USA by the end of 2024, claims Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, reported ANI. Speaking about the infrastructure development of the country, the minister said that if India needs capital investment and development in the industry, the country should have good infrastructure. He also reiterated that the central government is giving the infrastructure development highest priority.

While speaking about the development strategy for the national highway road network of India, the minister said that the government aims to match the scale of the road network of the US by the end of this year. “At the end of 2024 our National Highway Road network will be equivalent to the road network of USA," Gadkari added.

Highlighting specific projects, Gadkari revealed plans to significantly reduce the distance between Delhi and Chennai by 320 kilometres, which will bring down the duration of travelling between the two cities significantly. He said that to travel between these two metro cities, people will not need to go to Mumbai and Pune.

The proposed express highway from Surat will enhance connectivity to key cities like Nasik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kurnool, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kanyakumari, Hyderabad, and Chennai, streamlining transportation routes and fostering regional development, claimed the minister. “From Delhi to Chennai we are going to reduce the distance by 320 km. After the express highway going to Surat, there will be connectivity to Nasik, Nasik to Ahmednagar, Ahmednagar to Solapur, Solapur to Kurnool, and Kurnool to Trivandrum, Kochin, Kanyakumari, Hyderabad and Chennai. For Chennai, you don't need to go to Mumbai and Pune," Gadkari added.

Meanwhile, the minister also revealed that the government is trying to complete the Chennai-Bengaluru greenfield expressway by December this year, which will significantly reduce the travelling time between the two metro cities in South India.