Gururgram: Being constructed for two years, the 83-kilometer stretch of the Kundali-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway is all set be completed in October. With the completion of the project on the way, the Haryana government plans for a grand launch of the Expressway that has been constructed at a whopping cost of Rs 1,900 crore.
According to sources, the expressway will be formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 1 that is observed as "Haryana Day". Once functional, it is expected that the route will reduce the pollution of the national Capital by almost 35 percent as all of the trucks that used to earlier enter into Delhi will now be using the six-lane expressway.
The KMP expressway is also expected to bring in a big gain for the Haryana Government. In the cabinet meeting that was chaired by the Chief Minister ML Khattar, it was decided that five cities having a total area of 50,000 hectares will be built around the expressway. It must be noted that Haryana government has already begun the process of inviting tenders for the building of Panchgram, the mega city project that will come around the expressway. In addition to the building of the new cities, five toll plazas will also be set up.
For three months, however, there will be no toll plazas on the stretch. The Haryana government will begin the process of inviting the tenders of the parties that will charge the minimum fee from the commuters.
Also known as Western Expressway, the KMP connects four National Highways, NH-1 near Kundali, NH-8 near Manesar, NH-10 near Bahadur Garh and NH-2 near Palwal.
The Western Expressway will also have many firsts. To ensure that new construction remains eco-friendly all lanes will be equipped with solar lighting and rainwater harvesting 500 meters from both the sides. It will include chain link fencing to prevent unwanted entry and exit and have metal beam crash barriers to further enhance safety.
Such has been the significance of the project that, the Chief Minister ML Khattar on several occasion has himself inspected the progress of the projects. Once completed, the project will be able to meet its deadline of four months in advance. The construction of the project that was started on August 24, 2016, was previously expected to be completed in February 2019.