The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on Wednesday (23 May) shortlisted 18 contractors for the 13 phases involved in the construction of the Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor connecting the state’s capital city of Mumbai to its winter capital in Nagpur, thus paving way for the Rs 46,000 crore project to enter its final pre-construction stage.

Work on the 800 km-long expressway that will feature four lanes in each direction will begin once the monsoons are over with developers mobilising machinery and labour by June-end.

The entire expressway project is being planned in 16 packages of which bidding for 13 has taken place. Bidding for the balance three sections will take place once environmental clearance is received for forest areas in the Nashik and Vidharba regions. Financial bids have been opened and will be evaluated in the coming week. The MSRDC is looking at issuing work orders by June.

Around 82 per cent of the land has been acquired for the project that will pass through ten districts, 26 taluks, and 392 villages apart from connecting over 14 major tourist destinations. It is also slated to reduce the travel time between the two cities from 18 hours to eight hours. Toll on the road is slated to be around Rs 800.

Also Read: The Economics Of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway