The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved significant highway projects aimed at bolstering infrastructure and connectivity across the country. The approvals, made on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, pave the way for the construction of a new six-lane greenfield corridor connecting Nashik and Solapur in Maharashtra, and the widening and strengthening of National Highway-326 in Odisha. These projects represent a substantial investment in next-generation infrastructure, promising to accelerate economic growth, generate employment, and improve logistics efficiency.
The Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot corridor in Maharashtra, a greenfield project, has been sanctioned with an outlay of Rs 19,142 crore. This 374-km long corridor is designed as an access-controlled six-lane highway and will be built on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode. The primary goal is to enhance travel efficiency, reduce travel time by an estimated 17 hours, and shorten the distance by 201 km. It will connect key regional cities such as Nashik, Ahilyanagar and Solapur, further linking to Kurnool. The corridor will also integrate with major expressways, including the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Vadhawan port interchange, the Agra-Mumbai corridor at Nashik (NH-60 junction), and the Samruddhi Mahamarg at Pangri. This integration aims to provide seamless connectivity from the west to the east coast.
The project is expected to significantly improve logistics for freight originating from and terminating at major National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) nodes like Kopparthy and Orvakal. Moreover, the Nashik-Talegaon Dighe section addresses the need for the development of the Pune-Nashik Expressway, as identified by NICDC.
In Odisha, the Cabinet has approved Rs 1,526.21 crore for the widening and strengthening of NH-326. This project involves upgrading the existing two-lane highway to a two-lane road with paved shoulders, spanning from kilometre 68.600 to kilometre 311.700 of the Mohana-Koraput section. The project will be executed under the National Highways (Original) scheme on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. The upgrade aims to improve road safety, reduce travel time by approximately 2.5 to 3 hours, and enhance connectivity in southern Odisha. The improved highway is also expected to shorten the distance by nearly 12.5 kilometres.
Currently, the Mohana-Koraput stretch suffers from substandard road geometry, sharp curves, steep gradients, and inadequate carriageway width, which impede the safe movement of heavy vehicles and increase logistics costs. The approved upgrade will rectify these deficiencies through geometric corrections, pavement strengthening, and the removal of accident-prone black spots. The upgraded corridor will provide direct and improved connectivity from Mohana–Koraput into major economic and logistics corridors — linking with NH-26, NH-59, NH-16 and the Raipur–Visakhapatnam corridor and improving last-mile access to Gopalpur port, Jeypore airport and several railway stations.
The government anticipates that the NH-326 project will stimulate economic development in the districts of Gajapati, Rayagada, and Koraput by improving access to markets, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. The corridor connects important industrial and logistic nodes (JK Paper, Mega Food Park, NALCO, IMFA, Utkal Alumina, Vedanta, HAL) and education/tourism hubs (Central University of Odisha, Koraput Medical College, Taptapani, Rayagada), thereby facilitating faster freight movement, reducing travel time and enabling regional economic development.
These highway projects are part of a broader infrastructure push by the government. Since June 2024, the NDA government has approved highway projects worth Rs 2.18 lakh crore, and a total of Rs 12.06 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects, including highways, metro, airports and ports. These initiatives align with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, which emphasizes integrated transport infrastructure development. The construction of the Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot corridor is targeted to be completed within 24 months from the appointed date, followed by a five-year defect liability/maintenance period.
