Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced that the work on the Mumbai-Goa highway will be completed within the next one year.
Speaking at the inauguration of three national highway projects, Gadkari said that the initial work was delayed due to land acquisition and obtaining permissions from railways and forest the department.The work on the Mumbai-Goa highway is underway in eleven phases.
“Mumbai-Goa is the heartbeat of this region. So we will definitely complete this work within a year. This highway now exists not only Mumbai-Goa but it has been extended to Mangalore. If government land becomes available on the Mumbai-Goa Highway, we will do our utmost to help set up a logistics park and truck terminal”, stated the Union Minister on the occasion.
Talking about the employment opportunities for the youth of Konkan region, Gadkari said, “In the last seven years, JNPT has done development work worth Rs one lakh crore. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was launched in JNPT in 2016 at a cost of Rs 570 crore. It now has 24 companies operating from there. An investment of Rs 60,000 crore will come soon through this channel. This will provide employment to 1.5 lakh for people in Konkan”.
Maharashtra, especially the Konkan, has a rich heritage of forts, stated the Union Minister. “Therefore, we will fulfil all the proposals for ropeways in the state regarding forts”, said Gadkari.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has Austrian Duffelware technology available for ropeways, which can be used in the state, he said. He also suggested arranging light and sound shows at all the forts to attract more tourists.
Gadkari was speaking at the inauguration of three national highway projects worth Rs 131.87 crore in Raigad district and a ground-breaking ceremony for 42 km of roads worth Rs 430 crore, held today.
As a part of this development, Harihareshwar Temple, Diveghar Golden Temple, Murud-Janjira Fort, Padmadurga Fort, Shrivardhan and Diveghar beaches have good road connectivity now.
The highway caters for transportation of heavy vehicles to Dighi Port and provides connectivity to areas of the tourism industry in the vicinity around the Konkan belt in Raigad.
It is also the only road connecting existing NH-66 Mumbai-Goa Highway to Dighi Port.
