Bengaluru-Chennai express highway will be launched by the end of this year or January 2024, said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday. Once the express highway is opened for public use, the Minister said it will reduce travel time between the two metros to just two hours. After reviewing the project, the Minister said the people could even start luxury buses and sleeper coaches on the route since they were making good roads.
Nitin Gadkari said, "I reviewed the progress of National Highways projects in Chennai on Thursday. The Bengaluru-Chennai express highway will start by this year-end or January 2024."
The Minister said that those interested could start luxury buses and sleeper coaches in the sector. He said, "We are making good roads. We are connecting Delhi to Chennai via Surat, Nasik, Ahmednagar, Kurnool, Chennai (and beyond), Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi (and also to) Bengaluru and Hyderabad, through the access-controlled highways project."
The Minister said that massive infrastructure projects are undertaken in the country and once implemented Chennai will soon be connected with Delhi through the access-controlled highway project.
Addressing the 75th anniversary celebrations of Ashok Leyland in Chennai, he said, there’s a great requirement for electric buses in the country.
In addition, he urged Ashok Leyland and other players to produce vehicles that could use bio fuels or alternative energy, such as e-vehicles, in a big way and help the Centre achieve the goal of a five trillion dollar economy. He also added that the ministry is currently building an electric cable highway between the national capital and Jaipur.
Earlier, the minister launched Ashok Leyland’s IeV series, India’s first electric commercial vehicle in its category.
Further, the Minister said that he has been working on the diversification of agriculture to the energy and power sector since 2004.