Modi's Punjab Visit: PM To Lay Foundation Stone For Projects Worth Over Rs 42,000 Crore, Includes Delhi - Katra Expressway

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ferozepur, Punjab on Wednesday (5 January) and will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore.

These projects include Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway; four laning of Amritsar – Una highway section and Mukerian - Talwara new Broad Gauge railway line.

The 669 kilometre long Delhi - Amritsar - Katra Expressway will be developed at a total cost of about Rs 39,500 crore. It will halve travel time from Delhi to Amritsar and Delhi to Katra.

The Greenfield Expressway will connect key Sikh religious sites at Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran and the holy Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra.

The expressway will also connect key economic centres like Ambala Chandigarh, Mohali, Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Kathua and Samba in the three states/UTs of Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

The four-laning of Amritsar – Una highway will be done at the cost of around Rs 1,700 crore. The 77 kilometre long section is part of the larger Amritsar to Bhota corridor spanning across the longitudinal expanse of Northern Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, connecting four major national highways, namely Amritsar-Bhatinda-Jamnagar Economic Corridor, Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway, North-South Corridor and Kangra-Hamirpur-Bilaspur-Shimla Corridor.

This highway will help in improving the connectivity of religious sites at Ghoman, Shri Hargobindpur and Pulpukta Town (home to the famous Gurudwara Pulpukta Sahib).

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of a new Broad Gauge railway line between Mukerian and Talwara of around 27 Km in length, to be built at a cost of over Rs 410 crore.

The railway line will be an extension of Nangal Dam-Daulatpur Chowk railway section. It will provide an all - weathered means of transportation in the area.

This project also holds strategic importance as it will serve as an alternative route to Jammu and Kashmir, joining the existing Jalandhar-Jammu Railway line at Mukerian.

The project will prove especially beneficial for the people of Hoshiarpur in Punjab and Una in Himachal Pradesh. It will give a boost to tourism in the region, and provide ease of connectivity to hill stations as well as to places of religious importance.

“The consistent endeavour of the Prime Minister to improve connectivity all across the country has led to multiple national highway development initiatives being taken up in the state of Punjab,” the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

“It has resulted in more than doubling the total length of National highways in the state from about 1700 kilometre in 2014 to more than 4100 kilometres in 2021. In continuation of such efforts the foundation stone of two major road corridors will be laid in Punjab,” the PMO added.