Land acquisition for the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway, which now gains more importance due to the planned connectivity to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, is likely to begin soon. The land acquisition is likely to be completed in the next six months.

“The feasibility report for the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway has been almost completed and the land-acquisition process is likely to start soon. Ideally, we should complete the land-acquisition process within (the next) six months,” said DO Tawade, project officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The study to connect the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway to the Mumbai-Pune expressway has been completed. Both of these expressways are likely to connect beyond a point near Panvel, Navi Mumbai. However, the final details of this connectivity and its positioning will depend on the final approvals which are required.

The 400 km Mumbai-Vadodara expressway will be developed on a public-private partnership (PPP) model similar to all other NHAI projects awarded in the recent past. This six-lane expressway project will assume added significance once it is connected to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

The Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway is part of the National Highway Development Programme, which is running behind schedule. In a Rajya Sabha session held in July 2009, minster of state for road transport and highways RPN Singh had stated, “The process of land acquisition would most likely begin by April 2010, and construction would start by April 2012.”

The NHAI official also stated that work on the development of three more national highways in Maharashtra will start soon, as the request for quotations (RFQs) for these projects are expected within this month. — Amritha Pillay