Infrastructure

Mumbai-Goa Highway to Open After 14-Year Delay

Originally due to open in 2014, the project has faced repeated delays.

Updated on

May 11, 2025

After years of delays, India’s Mumbai-Goa highway is finally nearing completion, with Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari confirming it will be fully ready by June.

Work on the four-laning of the 580km highway, formally known as National Highway-66 (NH-66), first began in December 2011 but has since faced repeated setbacks.

Speaking at a public lecture in Mumbai, Gadkari said, “There were numerous difficulties with the Mumbai–Goa highway. But do not worry, we will complete the road 100% by this June.”

The project, which stretches from Panvel near Mumbai to Goa, is being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Maharashtra’s Public Works Department. Officials say significant progress has been made on several sections.

On the Panvel-Kasu stretch (0 to 42.3 km), 41.5 km of the main carriageway and 20.7 km of the 23.6 km service road have been completed.

In the Kasu-Indapur section (42.3 km to 82.6 km), 33.9 km of the road has been concretised, while 6.5 km of the 16.2 km service road is done.

Additional infrastructure in this section, including vehicular underpasses at Amtem, Nagothane, Koleti, Talawali, and Ratwad, as well as flyovers and minor bridges at Mhaishdara and Khamb, is also on track for completion by June.

Originally due for completion in 2014, the NH-66 project has missed multiple deadlines. Gadkari had set a target to finish the highway by December 2023, which was again pushed back. The delays, he explained, stemmed mainly from land acquisition challenges.

“There were fights among brothers, cases in courts, and endless complications in providing compensation for land,” Gadkari said.

He noted that disputes among multiple family members over ownership of small land parcels in the Konkan region caused years of setbacks.

Despite these challenges, the minister assured that the project has now gained momentum.

“If I am to talk about Konkan, there are 13-14 owners in three acres of land. There are disputes, court cases… But they have been resolved, and the work on the Mumbai-Goa highway has gained momentum,” he added.

The completed highway is expected to reduce travel time between Mumbai and Goa and stimulate economic growth across Maharashtra’s Konkan division.

Gadkari also reiterated his vision of transforming India’s road network, stating, “India’s road infrastructure will be better than that of the United States in the next two years.”

As part of his broader infrastructure push, the minister also highlighted plans to connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari via a continuous expressway network, with 57 express highways under construction at a cost of ₹10 lakh crore.