Government is considering a proposal to build a new expressway connecting the national capital and the Pink City at an estimated cost of Rs 32,800 crore. About 2,800 hectares of land will have to be acquired for the project, Nitin Gadkari said addressing a press conference here after reviewing the progress of Delhi-Jaipur Highway. The cost of the land acquisition will be Rs 18,000 crore.

The proposed expressway will start from the south of Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi and end at Daulatpura on the existing NH 8. The expressway will help in reducing the distance between the national capital and Pink City. Gadkari added that the long-pending project of six-laning of Gurgaon-Jaipur section of the NH 8 will be dedicated to the public in December this year.

The highway project was to be ready in 2011 but it faced several hurdles and issues related with land acquisition, environmental clearance, shifting of utility services, litigation, banking which led to unexpected delays. Gadkari also said that government has decided to spare 1 per cent of the cost of construction for plantation in order to increase green cover.

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