The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, approved the construction of a 6-lane, access-controlled greenfield high-speed National Highway starting from JNPA port (Pagote) to Chowk (29.219 km) in Maharashtra.

The project will be developed on build, operate and transfer (BOT) mode at a total capital cost of Rs 4,500.62 crore.

With increasing container volume in JNPA port and the development of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, a need was identified for augmenting National Highway connectivity in the region, according to an official statement.

Currently, it takes 2-3 hours for vehicles to move from JNPA Port to the arterial Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) section of NH-48 and Mumbai-Pune Expressway due to heavy congestion in urban areas like Palaspe Phata, D-Point, Kalamboli junction, Panvel with traffic around 1.8 lakh PCU/day. After the operationalisation of Navi Mumbai Airport in 2025, the need for direct connectivity is expected to increase further.

Accordingly, this project is designed to address these connectivity requirements and to improve the logistic efficiency of connecting the JNPA port and Navi Mumbai International Airport, the statement said.

The project alignment starts at JNPA port (NH 348) (Pagote village) and ends at the Mumbai-Pune Highway (NH-48) while also linking the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Mumbai-Goa National Highway (NH-66).

Two tunnels passing through Sahayadri are provided for ease of movement for commercial vehicles instead of the Ghat section in hilly terrain ensuring high speed and ease in movement for large container trucks.

The new 6-lane green field project corridor will lead to better port connectivity help in safe and efficient freight movement. The project will open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in developing regions in and around Mumbai and Pune.

The development of road connecting infrastructure to major and minor ports in India is one of the main focus areas of integrated infrastructure planning under PM Gatishakti National Master Plan principles.