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The Modi cabinet approved two major highway projects in a meeting held on Wednesday, which will boost infrastructure strengthening in Maharashtra and Odisha. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the Nashik-Solapur (Akkalkot) six-lane greenfield highway corridor has been approved. This 374-kilometer-long project will be completed in two years and is estimated to cost 19,142 crore rupees, which is part of the Surat-Chennai high-speed corridor.
This highway will connect Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Dharashiv, and Solapur districts, reducing the distance between Nashik and Solapur by 14%. It will include 27 large and 164 small bridges, while the travel time between Surat and Chennai will be reduced by 45%. This access-controlled corridor, to be built on BOT (toll) mode, will be connected to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Agra-Mumbai Corridor, and Samruddhi Highway, reducing travel time by 17 hours and distance by 201 kilometers.
The second project is the widening and strengthening of the highway from Koraput to Mohana in Odisha, which will be made two-lane. This project will cost 1,526 crore rupees and will also be completed in two years. The Nashik-Solapur project will create approximately 251 lakh direct and 314 lakh indirect man-days of employment, which will accelerate economic development in the region.
• Approval for Nashik–Solapur 374 km six-lane highway
• Project cost approximately 19,142 crore rupees
• Travel time and distance will be significantly reduced
• Millions of man-days of employment will be created