The Cabinet on Tuesday approved four-laning of a section of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in Madhya Pradesh on hybrid annuity mode at a cost of Rs 3,839.42 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the development of a 4-lane corridor from the Badnawar-Petlawad-Thandla-Timarwani section of NH-752D, having a length of 80.45 kilometers, an official release said.

The construction period of the project is 24 months.The approved corridor will provide connectivity from Ujjain to the Timrawani interchange on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME).

The primary purpose of the proposed four-lane project corridor is to improve travel efficiency and reduce travel time by about an hour.The Ujjain-Badnawar section of 70.40 km length has already been upgraded from 2-lane to 4-lane.The Badnawar-Timarwani stretch is an existing intermediate lane (5.5m) with poor geometry (speed 20-50 kmph). Upgrading this section will complete the direct 4-lane connectivity from Ujjain to Timarwani interchange at Delhi-Mumbai expressway (DME) with a Speed of 80-100 kmph, the release said.

The Timarwani-Thandla-Petlawad-Badnawar-Ujjain corridor is the shortest route for traffic from Gujarat and Maharashtra to Ujjain.

"Upgradation of the Timarwani-Badnawar section will strengthen inter-state connectivity and enable efficient movement of traffic and would also take care of the surge in traffic during Simhastha Kumbh Mela in April 2028," the release said.

It further said the proposed project provides high-speed connectivity designed for improved safety and uninterrupted traffic movement, reducing travel time, congestion, and operating costs.The project will enhance the basic infrastructure in the region, contributing to the overall economic development of Dhar and Jhabua districts in the state of Madhya Pradesh, it added.