With an intention of linking two economic hubs of the country, the government of India planned the Delhi Mumbai Expressway, a 1,380-km controlled access highway, which would cut down the travel time between the two major cities from 24 hours to 12 hours. The foundation stone for the project was laid in March 2019 and is expected to be completed by October 2025. The Delhi Mumbai expressway, which will be India’s largest greenfield expressway, is near completion. The eight-lane Delhi Mumbai expressway will cover the Delhi Mumbai distance by passing through five states and several greenfield sites, which will be developed into warehousing hubs. It will offer connectivity to major economic centres in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The stretch from Sohna in Haryana to Dausa in Rajasthan was inaugurated on February 12, 2023, while the 845-km Delhi- Vadodara section was opened on October 2, 2023.
See also: All about Pune Mumbai expressway toll
The country now has a network of over 1.40 lakh kilometres of national highways as against 90,000 kilometre in March 2014.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said that it will develop the Delhi Mumbai expressway, along with the Hyderabad-Bengaluru corridor as digital highways for faster rollout of technologies such as 5G networks. There are plans to set up around 10,000 km of optic fibre cables (OFC) across the country by 2025. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to be operational by October 2025.
As per an official statement by NHAI, the National Highways Logistics Management (NHLML), a fully owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) of NHAI, will implement the OFC network by building integrated utility corridors along the national highways (NHs).
See also: All about Bharatmala project
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Quick facts
| Name | Delhi Mumbai Expressway |
| Length | 1,380-km |
| Estimated cost | Rs 1,00,000 crore |
| Status | In progress |
| Lane | Eight |
| Project model | Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model |
| Owner | National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) |
| Travel time | 12 hours |
| Inauguration | June 2024 |
| States covered | Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra |
| Start point | DND Flyway, Delhi and Sohna, Haryana |
| End point | Virar-Maharashtra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Maharashtra |
| Speed | 120 km per hour |
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route
| DND-Faridabad-KMP route: 59 km | 9 km in Delhi
50 km in Haryana
|
| Sohna-KMP-Vadodara: 845 km | 79 km in Haryana
373 km in Rajasthan 244 km in Madhya Pradesh 149 km in Gujarat |
| Vadodara-Virar: 356 km | 277 km in Gujarat
79 km in Maharashtra |
| Virar-JNPT route: 92 km | 92 km in Maharashtra |
The Delhi Mumbai expressway, which is being developed at an expense of Rs 98,000 crores, will pass through five states, namely Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The expressway will begin from Gurgaon and pass through Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and Vadodara in Gujarat. The greenfield expressway will help reduce the Delhi Mumbai distance from 727 to 572 kilometres.
Section 1: DND-Faridabad-KMP route: 59 km
The Delhi Mumbai expressway will start from the Delhi Noida Driveway (DND) flyway in Delhi and pass through areas such as Shaheen Bagh, Okhla, Kalindi Kunj. Sohna in Haryana will serve as an entry-exit point. The traffic from the entry/exit point will merge at the KMP expressway in Nuh and move further towards Vadodara and Mumbai.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first stretch of the expressway from Sohna in Haryana to Dausa in Rajasthan on February 12, 2023, reducing travel time from Delhi to Jaipur from five hours to just three hours. Covering 246 km, the section will reduce travel time from Delhi to Jaipur to just three hours from the current five hours. Developed at the cost of over Rs 12,150 crore, the section will be directly connected with the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway from DND to Jaitpur, from Jaitpur to Ballabhgarh and from Ballabhgarh to Sohna.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway to connect Jewar Airport
The NHAI has allotted Rs 537 crore for connecting the upcoming Noida International Airport with Yamuna Expressway and the Delhi Mumbai Expressway. A 750-metre road will be built to directly link the Jewar Airport with the Yamuna Expressway. Moreover, a 31-km expressway link is being constructed to link the airport with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway through Ballabhgarh in Haryana. The NHAI is planning to build an interchange at the 30-km point on the Yamuna Expressway, where it will intersect with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The proposed link road between Jewar and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will provide connectivity between the Noida Airport and the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway to reduce travel time from Maharani Bagh to Sohna
The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai expressway is expected to reduce the travel time from 2.5 hours to only 25 minutes. The six-lane highway and two newly developed bridges over the Agra and Gurgaon canals will ease traffic along the route, especially the Mathura Road that sees heavy traffic congestion. The elevated corridor will cover densely populated localities of Delhi such as Yamuna Khadar, Okhla Vihar and Batla House, moving parallel to the Yamuna riverbank. According to a TOI report, a downward ramp has been constructed near Maharani Bagh, which will pass through Ashram entrance to the DND flyover. This will facilitate seamless traffic flow to Faridabad, Palwal and Sohna.
Section 2: Sohna-KMP-Vadodara
The Sohna-Dausa section will cover 160 km in Haryana, passing through Gurugram, Palwal and Nuh districts. It will cover 11 villages in the Gurugram district, seven villages in Palwal and 47 villages in the Nuh district.
The expressway will cover areas in Haryana such as Alipur Village, Sohna, Sancholi village, Bhirawati and Khalilpur in Nuh district, Naurangabad, east of Ujina, east of Bhadas, west of Pinangwan, east of Ferozpur Jhirka and Kolgaon village. It will move towards Naugain village in Alwar district, Rajgarh-Mandawar road, east of Dausa, southwest of Lalsot, southwest of Sawai Madhopur, east of Indragarh (Bundi), east of Kota and east of Rawatbhata.
In Madhya Pradesh, the expressway will cover east of Bhanupura, east of Garoth, east of Sitamau, east of Jaora, west of Ratlam and west of Thandla. The route will cover various areas in Gujarat such as Chhayan village, north of Dahod, parts of Godhra, Dodka village and Vadodara.
On October 2, 2023, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the new section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, from Delhi to Vadodara. The Delhi- Vadodara Expressway is an eight-lane access-controlled expressway, covering 845 km. The section is expected to boost connectivity between the states, reducing travel time between the cities from 18-20 hours to 10 hours.
Section 3: Vadodara-Virar section
The expressway will cover key areas such as Dodka Village, Fajapur Village, Samiyala and Laxmipura, Dehgam Village, Moti Naroli Village, east of Navsari and east of Valsad. This section will also cover some areas in Maharashtra, including the state border and part of Virar, Palghar.
The Delhi-Vadodara section will start from Sohna–Gurgaon Road near Alipur village and connect NE-1 Ahmedabad interchange at Dodka village.
The Vadodara-Bharuch section was inaugurated on February 20, 2024, covers a distance of 86 kilometre, connecting the two cities and reducing travel time to around 40 minutes.
- The first section of 31 km from Manubar to Sampa has been developed at a cost of over Rs 2,400 crore.
- The second section of 32 km from Sampa to Padra has been developed at a cost of over Rs 3,200 crore.
- The third section of 23 km from Padra to Vadodara has been developed at the cost of over Rs 4,300 crore.
Section 4: Virar-JNPT
In Maharashtra, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway will cover Virar, Amane and Badlapur and finally end at JNPT, Mumbai.
See also: Pink line metro route in Delhi, status, map and stations
See also: All about the Samruddhi Mahamarg Mumbai Nagpur expressway
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route in Haryana
| Route | Location |
| NH919 (Sohna – Palwal), flyover interchange | Bhirawati village in Sohna |
| Western Peripheral Expressway (KMP Expressway) cloverleaf interchange | Near Khalilpur village in Gurgaon |
| Flyover interchange east of Ujina on Nuh-Hodal link | MDR (Major District Road – 132) |
| Interchange between Bhadas-Hathin | MDR135 in Bhadas |
| Flyover interchange towards the west of Pinangwan on Moolthan-Hodal section | MDR131, Pinangwan |
| NH22, flyover interchange east of Ferozepur Jhirka | Ferozepur Jhirka |
| Kolgaon village, south of Ferozpur Jhirka | Haryana-Rajasthan border |
The expressway will start at NH919 from Bhirawati village in Sohna. It will run parallel to the Delhi-Alwar route in Haryana and will exit the state at Kolgaon village, Ferozpur Jhirka.
See also: All about eastern peripheral expressway
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route in Rajasthan
| Route | Location |
| Interchanges at NH45, NH14 and NH44. | Alwar |
| Interchange at NH25A | Rajgarh |
| Interchange on Manoharpur-Dausa highway | NH148 |
| Intersections at NH21 and NH23 | Jaipur |
| Interchange south-west of Sawai Madhopur | NH552 |
| Indragarh interchange | NH29 |
| Rawatbhata interchange | NH9A |
| Neemuch interchange | NH31A |
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route in Madhya Pradesh
| Route | Location |
| Interchange east of Bhanpura-Neemuch | MP |
| East of Garoth | MP |
| Interchanges at NH31 and NH14 | Mandsaur, MP |
| Jaora | Jaora, MP |
| Ratlam and Banswara | MP |
| Thandla | MP |
Construction work on a stretch of 106 kms in Madhya Pradesh has already been completed and the remaining work will be completed by November 2022.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route in Gujarat
| Route | Location |
| Dahod | Chhayan village |
| Godhra | Godhra |
| Vadodara | Vadodara |
| Surat | Surat |
| Navsari | Navsari |
Delhi Mumbai Expressway route in Maharashtra
| Route | Location |
| Valsad | Chhayan village |
| Vapi-Silvassa | Godhra |
| Virar | Palghar district |
| Amane and Badlapur | Thane district |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) | Navi Mumbai |
The Delhi Mumbai expressway will link urban centers of the national capital through the Delhi-Faridabad-Sohna section of the corridor, along with a branch leading to the Jewar Airport and another to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai.
Also read the latest developments on the Delhi Dehradun Expressway.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway features: Sustainable infrastructure
Wildlife crossings
The upcoming expressway, which will also be the longest greenfield expressway, will have India’s first animal bridges or animal overpasses. These will be designed to keep the wildlife section unaffected from the new infrastructure. There will be around five such animal overpasses, with a combined length of around 2.5 kms, passing through Ranthambore wildlife corridor and Mukundra wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan.
Environment-friendly features
The greenfield Delhi Mumbai expressway is also expected to cut around 850 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions. Besides, about 32 crore liters of fuel will be saved every year, owing to reduced traffic congestion. The lights on the expressway will operate on solar power. The expressway will have a tree cover of two million trees, watered with drip irrigation on the entire stretch with rainwater harvesting system at every 500 metres.
E-highway
There are plans to develop an e-highway, which is expected to cut down the logistics costs by 70%. It will allow commercial vehicles like trucks and buses to move at a speed of 120 kmph. Four lanes on this eight-lane expressway will be for e-vehicles only. A 1.5-metre-high wall will be constructed on both sides of the road for security. Toll plazas will be set up in slip lanes instead of highways.
Multi-modal logistics parks
According to Anurag Jain, secretary, road transport and highways ministry, the first of the four planned multi-modal logistics parks in India along the corridor would come up in Indore. It will involve land acquisition of 300 acre for the facility and construction will be undertaken under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
See also: All about the Purvanchal Expressway
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Project construction phases
With a total length of 1,350 kilometres across six states, the Delhi-Mumbai highway road will be developed in four sections with a total of 52 construction packages. The approximate length of each package is eight km to 46 km.
- DND-Faridabad-KMP section of 59 km (Number of Packages: 03 – 1 in Delhi and 2 in Haryana)
- Sohna-KMP-Vadodara section of 844 km (Number of Packages: 31 – 3 in Haryana, 13 in Rajasthan, 9 in MP and 6 in Gujarat)
- Vadodara-Virar section of 354 km (Number of Packages: 13 – 10 in Gujarat and 3 in Maharashtra)
- Virar-JNPT section of 92 km (Number of Packages: 05 – 05 in Maharashtra)
know about: noida vs gurgaon
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Timeline
- January 2019: Land acquisition for Haryana stretch completed. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh yet to acquire land.
- March 2019: Foundation stone laid by union minister Nitin Gadkari. 148 kms of work awarded and rest of the contract to be awarded over six months.
- September 2019: Civil work begins. Deadline for the project set to 2020.
- February 2020: Deadline postponed to January 26, 2023.
- June 2020: Detailed project report (DPR) yet to be prepared for the last 33-km stretch. Around 497 kms are under-construction while the contract is yet to be awarded for 162 kms.
- February 2021: During the Union Budget 2021 presentation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the contract works for the remaining 260 kms would be awarded before March 2021.
- February 12, 2023: Sohna-Dausa section of Delhi Mumbai expressway to become operational.
- September 2023: The Madhya Pradesh section of 244 km was inaugurated.
- February 2024: Vadodara-Bharuch section was inaugurated by PM Modi.
- July 2024: Completion of 24 construction packages of the Delhi Mumbai expressway.
See also: PM lays foundation stone for Bundelkhand Expressway
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Cost
The Delhi Mumbai Expressway, connecting two major metro cities, is a flagship greenfield project implemented under the Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-1 program. The expressway project is being executed in 52 construction packages. According to an official release by the government, out of the 1,380 kilometres, contracts for more than 1,200 kilometres have already been awarded and are under progress.
The Delhi Mumbai expressway project is being developed at a cost of around Rs 1,00,000 crores, including the land acquisition cost. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV), DME Developers (DMEL), to finance the expressway project and it will be fully owned by the Authority. The NHAI recently said that the SPV had received AAA rating from CRISIL, CARE and India Ratings.
According to a recent statement by the NHAI, the SPV has raised Rs 9,731 crores to part-fund the project. The major share of the funding came from State Bank of India that contributed Rs 5,000 crores. Other investors in the SPV are Punjab National Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Axis Bank.
Over 160 km long section of the Delhi Mumbai highway road passing through Haryana will be constructed with around Rs 10,400 crores. As per the government, it will benefit nearly 73 villages, and the expressway will help cut down 27% of vehicular pollution in Delhi NCR.
The Sohna-Dausa stretch has been developed at the cost of over Rs 12,150 crore.
See also: All about the Lucknow to Agra Expressway
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Toll rates
| Types of Vehicles | Maximum toll amount |
| Light vehicles (cars) | Rs 500 |
| Commercial vehicles | Rs 805 |
| Heavy vehicles (buses, trucks) | Rs 1680 |
The expressway will have over 90 exit points. It will also have the first-ever electric lane in India.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Connectivity with other expressways
- The Union Government is planning to connect the Delhi Mumbai expressway with the Agra-Gwalior greenfield expressway, to be completed in 2027, in Kota. This expressway will also be connected to the Bundelkhand expressway in Etawah and Agra Expressway in Lucknow. This will significantly reduce travel time between Delhi and Gwalior to four hours.
- The Road and Transport Ministry has also approved an expressway between Chennai and Surat, connecting the Delhi Mumbai expressway at Surat.
- The trans-Haryana expressway will be connected to the Delhi-Mumbai expressway. The NHAI will develop an 86-km-long road to reduce traffic congestion in Delhi-NCR and decongest NH-44 from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. This expressway will be between Paniyala and Barodameo in Alwar Rajasthan. It will be developed at a cost of Rs 1400 crore and expected to be completed in two years.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Rules
- The maximum speed on the expressway is 120 kmph.
- Stopping vehicle on the Mumbai Delhi expressway route is prohibited as it is a high-speed corridor.
- Two or three wheeler vehicles such as bullock carts, auto rickshaws, bikes, etc. are not allowed to enter the Delhi Mumbai expressway. It can result in a fine of Rs 5,000.
- Toll gates on the Mumbai Delhi expressway route are located at Shamshabad, Khalipur, Pinan, Barakapara and Durgapur.
- Khalipur, located on the partial operational stretch, is around 20 km from the starting point and the toll charges are Rs 90.
- Barakapara, located on the partial operational stretch, has a toll charge of Rs 500 and Rs 800 for light and commercial vehicles, respectively.
Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Real estate impact
The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai expressway will be one of the longest expressways in India, which is expected to significantly boost real estate opportunities across several areas along the corridor. Various townships, housing projects and commercial properties are coming up in various locations. Moreover, the infrastructure project will be a key growth driver for new developments, including townships, business parks and logistics parks. Key cities such as Surat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara are expected to see significant development in real estate sector.
Increase in property prices
The Delhi-Mumbai expressway project has steered real estate growth, leading to increase in property prices, especially in Gurgaon and Sohna part of the expressway. Prominent developers, including Godrej properties and Signature Global, are coming up with new projects along these locations.
New real estate hubs
The Delhi-Mumbai expressway will pave way for the development of new real estate hubs. Sohna near Gurgaon is emerging into a preferred real estate destination. The expressway will pass through Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The town is expected to attract investors, offering new real estate opportunities across Dwarka Expressway and Delhi-Alwar Expressway (NH-248A).
Housing.com News Viewpoint
The Delhi-Mumbai expressway is an upcoming infrastructure project, which is expected to change the real estate landscape across several states, creating an increased demand for properties, including residential, commercial and rented properties. It is an ideal time to invest in the region if one is looking to gain sound returns on investment as property prices and rental rates are expected to increase in future.
FAQs
How long does it take to drive from Delhi to Mumbai?
At present, it takes 22-24 hours to drive between Delhi and Mumbai.
How far away is Mumbai from Delhi?
The total distance between Mumbai and Delhi is 1,400 kms.
When will the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway be completed?
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to be completed by October 2025.
(With additional inputs from Surbhi Gupta)
| Got any questions or point of view on our article?
We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com |
