Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be fully completed by 2028, which will allow commuters to travel between Delhi and Mumbai in nearly 12 hours by road.
Speaking at a public gathering in Mandana on July 9, Gadkari acknowledged that work on the ambitious highway corridor is still underway but assured that the remaining sections would be completed within the promised timeline.
"The expressway still needs improvement. I give you my word that within two years the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be fully completed, enabling people to travel by car from Delhi to Nariman Point and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port within about 12 hours," he said.
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The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of India's largest infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity between the national and financial capital of India.
Once fully operational, the access-controlled expressway is expected to significantly reduce travel time, improve logistics efficiency and lower transportation costs.
Spanning around 1,386 km, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is India's longest access-controlled expressway. Designed for high-speed travel, it aims to improve connectivity between major industrial and economic centres while reducing travel time, fuel consumption and logistics costs across the corridor.
Several stretches of the expressway have already been opened to traffic, while construction continues on the remaining sections.
The project is also expected to boost economic activity by enhancing connectivity across multiple states, including Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The expressway forms part of the government's broader push to strengthen India's road infrastructure through high-speed highway networks.
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Apart from easing passenger travel, the corridor is also expected to facilitate faster movement of freight to key commercial centres, including Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which is one of the busiest container ports in the country.
Gadkari has repeatedly highlighted infrastructure development as a key driver of economic growth, with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway among the flagship projects under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
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