Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday dubbed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) a "gold mine" that would never fall into a debt trap.
Stating that India's national highways infrastructure world-class success story, he said, "The NHAI is a gold mine and will never be in a debt trap. In the next five years, NHAI's annual toll income will rise to Rs 1.40 lakh crore from the current level of Rs 40,000 crore."
Gadkari added that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, once operational, will generate Rs 1,000-1,500 crore toll revenue every month.
The Centre will get toll revenues worth Rs 1,000 to 1,500 crore every month once the much-awaited Delhi-Mumbai Expressway becomes operational in 2023, Gadkari said.
Gadkari, who just completed a whirlwind tour to assess the progress of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway that will pass through four states apart from the national capital, said the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is likely to be completed by March 2023 and is being built as part of the first phase of the 'Bharatmala Pariyojana'.
The eight-lane expressway, covering Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, is expected to halve the commute time between the national capital and the country's financial hub from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours.
(With inputs from PTI)
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