Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Completion Slips to 2027-28 Amid Gujarat Delays
The completion of the 1,386-km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has been pushed to 2027-28, nearly two years behind its original timeline, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Parliament. Despite significant progress on most sections, delays in a small but critical 87-km stretch in Gujarat have emerged as the main bottleneck for the ₹1.04 lakh crore mega infrastructure project.
The delayed portion comprises three packages—Jujuwa-Gandeva, Karvad-Jujuwa, and Talsari-Karvad—on the Vadodara-Virar section, all awarded in 2021 to Pune-based Roadway Solutions India Infra Ltd. Two of these contracts were terminated by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in March 2023 due to slow progress, but after fresh tenders, the same contractor won them back in November 2023 under competitive bidding norms. Execution challenges on the third package have further compounded delays.
More broadly, delays remain a concern across national highway projects. While the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constructed 3,468 km of national highways so far in the current financial year up to October 2025, data shared in Parliament shows that 649 of 1,208 ongoing NH projects have exceeded their original deadlines. These delays are largely attributed to litigation issues and land acquisition hurdles, reflecting systemic challenges in India’s infrastructure execution.
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