Surat to Chennai in 17 hours? Centre approves ₹19,142 crore National Highway investment plan

Now it's going to be possible to cover the distance by road between Surat and Chennai in 17 hours as the Centre has approved ₹19,142 crore National Highway investment plan. This major roadway project will cut the travel time by 14 hours from the previous 31 hours.

The Cabinet on 31 December 2025 gave green light to the construction of a section of the Surat-Chennai high-speed corridor — the 374-km Greenfield access-controlled Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot highway in Maharashtra. NHAI in a post on X stated, “The Union Cabinet has approved the development of the 374 km long 6-lane Greenfield Nashik–Solapur-Akkalkot Corridor, a major milestone in India’s high-speed National Highway infrastructure.”

Salient features of Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot highway project

• This project aims to strengthen seamless connectivity between western and southern India. Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that this will be the largest value of highway project on Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) mode in the country’s NH development history.

• This project will reduce the distance between Nashik and Solapur distance cut by 14%, from 432 kilometre to 374 kilometre.
• It will increase the average speed from 60 kmph to 100 kmph.
• Surat to Chennai travel time will be reduced by 45%.
• This link will serve as an alternative to the existing Mumbai-Chennai corridor, an official informed Times of India.
• The project will be developed in two large packages of 152 km (Nashik to Ahilyanagar) and 222 km (Ahilyanagar to Akkalkot), TOI reported.
• As per the report, the traffic estimate for this corridor is projected around 39,000 passenger car units (PCUs) per day.

Suggesting that the project will be bid out after acquisition of 90% land, an official told the publication, “The land acquisition is at an advanced stage for the entire project."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X said, “This transformative project, aligned with PM Gati Shakti, will significantly reduce travel time, strengthen west-east connectivity, boost logistics cost, and create large-scale employment.”

Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The travel time between Surat and Chennai will be reduced by 45% from 31 hours at present to 17 hours. This will facilitate heavy traffic between Surat, Vadodara and Mumbai towards Kurnool, Bengaluru and Chennai.” Besides this, the cabinet approved widening and strengthening of NH-326 in Odisha.

• The 2-Lane highway will feature paved shoulders from Mohana to Koraput and as per plan the construction work will be completed in 2 years.
• The 206.2-kilometre-long highway will reduce travel time by 3 hours.
• It will cover several tribal districts, including Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput.
• According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, this project will boost economic activity, improve transportation and promote Koraput Coffee.