NEW DELHI: Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has approved the development of a Greenfield expressway connecting the national capital to Katra in Jammu and Kashmir via a direct link to Amritsar in Punjab. The project would entail a total cost of about Rs. 25,000 crore.
The decision to connect Amritsar with the expressway was taken after Capt. Amrinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab, urged Gadkari to include the city in the expressway to “resolve the issue of connectivity to Amritsar” in a video conference which was attended by cabinet ministers of the like of Jitendra Singh, Union minister for development of the northeast region, among other members of Parliament and ministry officials.
The road connecting Amritsar and Gurdaspur will also be fully developed and made signal free as a part of the project.
Gadkari confirmed that the new expressway, which is being built from scratch, would connect Nakodar via Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadoor Sahib. Hence the proposed expressway will serve as a connection between the holy cities of the five gurus of Sikhs.
As of now, the process of land acquisition is underway.