New expressways should be built along the east-west and north-south corridors and highway networks of the Golden Quadrilateral in 5-7 years to create a seamless network connecting major cities, they said.
High-speed expressways are usually access-controlled, which ensures uninterrupted traffic between cities by impeding slow-moving vehicles and restricting entrances and exits.
The new expressways are intended to offer commuters and freight carriers high-speed alternatives to congested national highways, as well as help reduce the country’s high logistics costs, one of the two officials said.
The North-South and East-West Corridors were launched in 1998 and the Golden Quadrilateral Expressway Project in 2001 as part of the National Expressway Development Project to create an economic corridor through major cities and towns across the country.
“The plan mirrors the existing Golden Quadrilateral and the east-west and north-south highway corridors… All planned high-speed corridors (will) either parallel or complement these networks,” the second official said. “The existing highway network is heavily congested and congested.”
The officials, who declined to be identified, did not disclose the planned length of the proposed new expressways or the investment.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already awarded 9,000 km of expressway projects and plans to award another 10,000 km of high-speed highway projects in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The new expressways that will be part of these projects will connect key economic centers falling within a certain distance of the Golden Quadrilateral network, officials said.
The initial investment in these projects, which will be part of the government’s Vision 2047 plan, is still being finalized, according to officials. Expressway construction costs usually exceed ₹40 million per km, depending on terrain and land cost.
The Ministry of Highways did not respond to questions from the Mint.
The Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West highway corridors currently measure about 13,500 km. Vision 2047 refers to the government’s ambition to transform India into a developed country by the time the country celebrates 100 years of independence.
Next generation infrastructure
Experts said the government’s focus on developing complex projects such as expressways marks a decisive shift towards building next-generation transport infrastructure.
“The plan to build 20,000-25,000 km of expressways over the next five years — creating a golden quadrilateral and a network of east-west/north-south high-speed corridors — can be transformative if executed well,” said Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, senior director and global head of consultants Crisil Intelligence.
“High-speed corridors significantly increase logistics efficiency by reducing travel time, improving reliability and reducing (India’s) logistics costs – currently among the highest in the world at 11-12% of GDP,” he added. “Such corridors will not only promote freight movement and industrial competitiveness, but also accelerate the development of economic clusters, logistics parks and new urban centers along these routes.”
Kuljit Singh, partner and head of national infrastructure, EY India, highlighted the need for new high-speed expressways across the country, noting that average vehicle speeds in India tend to be slow as existing highways are subject to local traffic, congestion and structural constraints. “The Golden Quadrilateral of normal highways was started in the early 2000s, so there is a need to have new highways because of the increase in traffic over the years.”
According to an estimate by Bhavik Damodar, partner at Deloitte India, the cost of building an initial network of 17,000 km of new high-speed highways by 2033 would be about ₹11 trillion.
“… The plan could be feasible through a combination of smart financing strategies. The government can use public-private partnerships (hybrid annuity and build-operate-transfer models), budgetary allocations and international financing to spread the financial burden,” Damodar said.
“The Golden Quadrilateral has already shown how such infrastructure can drive growth and connectivity, and expanding this network will build on that success by connecting more parts of the country,” he added.
