The first phase of 701 km Nagpur Mumbai Samruddhi MahaMarg from Nagpur to Shirdi will be operational by November, said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The CM heads the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation which is the nodal agency for the project. The first phase is 520km between Nagpur and Shirdi between Nagpur and Shirdi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate it. He however, did not divulge further details. The MSRDC vice chairman and managing director Radheshyam Mopalwar confirmed that they are waiting the PM’s confirmation. ”We are in readiness for the commissioning of the first phase by the Prime Minister. It will help improve connectivity and economic growth in the districts adjacent to the first phase of the Samruddhi Marg,” he noted.
The construction of the ambitious Samruddhi MahaMarg was launched during the previous BJP government in 2019. The land acquisition phase for the greenfield project started in July 2017 after it was first announced in 2015.
The project entails a total cost of Rs 55,000 crore and the MSRDC has raised loans worth Rs 28,000 crore. The Samruddhi MahaMarg passes directly through 10 districts namely Nagpur, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, Washim, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Nashik, and Thane. The first phase will connect eight districts.
