Goa-Mumbai four-laning to be completed by September, says Nitin Gadkari

Panaji: Four-laning of the Goa-Mumbai National Highway 66, covering around 500km, is finally set for completion by Sep, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said in a reply in the Rajya Sabha.
He said costs of work rose by around Rs 5,000 crore due to the increase in the cost of land acquisition, change of the scope of works due to site constraints, and the introduction of additional underpasses.
The road from Panaji to Panvel was taken up for four-laning, starting with the Panvel-Indrapur section in Maharashtra, on Dec 19, 2011. It was carried out in 14 project packages, sanctioned at a cost of Rs 14,106 crore.
“As on date, the four-lane work has been completed on a 463km length and ongoing works on the balance 24km length are targeted for completion in a phased manner by Sep 2025,” Gadkari said in his reply on Wednesday. “The development of this NH got delayed by land acquisition and other pre-construction activities as well as cash flow issues with some contractors.”
All pending issues have been resolved, and the balance works are under completion with a revised cost of Rs 19,469 crore, he said.
Expansion of the Goa-Belagavi highway will be completed around Dec 2028, Gadkari said in reply to another question. The development of 28km in Goa and 84km in Karnataka have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 2,559 crore, he said. The first package included the construction of the Ribandar bypass, taken up in April 2015.
“Development of the remaining 41km length in Goa is targeted for sanction in 2025-26 after the completion of land acquisition and receipt of forest and wildlife clearances,” Gadkari said.