New Delhi,
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is all set to develop a new e-way between Delhi and Mumbai, which would reduce the travel time between two metros by approximately 12 hours.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari while unveiling a joint study report on “Insurance requirements of the Indian Logistics and Warehousing Industry”, here on Tuesday said that the new expressway will be built at a cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore.

Gadkari said the expressway would pass through backward areas of Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat and would help in promoting industrial development in these areas. Gadkari said through a new highway alignment, the land acquisition cost would come down from Rs 7 crore per hectare to Rs 70-80 lakh per hectare.

“India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world, however, the logistics costs have been quite high as compared to other nations. In order to increase exports, we need to bring down logistics cost,” said Gadkari.

He said trucks cover a distance of 800 km daily in the US, whereas in India they cover a distance of upto 200-250 km. “I assure you that by 2019, Indian truckers would be able to cover a distance of 400 km daily,” the minister said.

He said an ambitious scheme of developing eastern and western peripheral expressways around Delhi has gained momentum, and the eastern peripheral expressway would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29.