Amritsar–Jamnagar Expressway


Amritsar Jamnagar Economic Corridor, nearly 1,400 km long, 6-lane wide corridor including the upgraded existing 215 km long NH54, the 915.85 km long greenfield Amritsar–Jamnagar Expressway NH754A, and the upgraded existing 245 km long Santalpur-Jamnagar NH27 and NH151A national highway, will reduce the travel time between Amritsar and Jamnagar from earlier 26 hours to only 13 hours while passing through four states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Built under the Bharatmala project, the route is strategically important, as it will connect 3 big oil refineries ; 2 power plants ; 7 seaports ; 8 airports ; and defence airbases.
The expressway will meet the Ludhiana-Bathinda-Ajmer Expressway of the Pathankot–Ajmer Economic Corridor at Bathinda.

History

This expressway is a part of Bharatmala's Phase-I, which is funded by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund in phases.
In October 2018, the Detailed Project Report was completed. In October 2019, bids were invited for various phases of the expressway, and land acquisition starts in October 2020 for the Amritsar–Bathinda greenfield stretch of the expressway, and the construction work began in April 2021.
The NHAI awarded the construction work of the greenfield expressway in 30 packages to the following construction companies, CDS Infra Projects, Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon, Gawar Construction, GR Infraprojects, JiangXi Construction – MKC Infrastructure JV, Krishna Construction, Lakshmi Infrastructure & Developers, NG Projects, NKC Projects, Raj Shyama Constructions, Raj Shyama Constructions - RCC Developers JV, Ravi Infrabuild Projects, VRC - VCL - CIL JV, VRC Constructions - S&P Infrastructure Developers JV.

Route

The expressway will be the first expressway in India, connecting three oil refineries of Bathinda, Barmer and Jamnagar. The Barmer Refinery is set to be completed by March 2023. Nearly 50% of the length of the expressway, i.e, 637 km falls under Rajasthan. The total project value including the land acquisition cost is nearly ₹80,000 crores.

Route summary by state

Punjab

In Punjab, it will start at Tibba village in Kapurthala district on Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway, and will end near Punjab-Haryana border in Bathinda district on NH-54. The expressway on the Tibba–Moga–Bathinda stretch was re-planned by the NHAI to make it a greenfield expressway.

Haryana

In Haryana, it will run entirely in the Sirsa district and it will not be access controlled. It will enter at Mandi Dabwali and exit at Haryana/Rajasthan border at Chautala village.

Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, it will enter through the Sangaria town in Hanumangarh district. From there it will pass through Bikaner district, Jodhpur district and Barmer district, before exiting Rajasthan at Sanchore town in Jalore district.

Gujarat

In Gujarat, it will enter at Vantdau in Banaskantha district, run through Patan district. From there the existing National Highway Network takes the route to Kutch district and Morbi district before finally ending at Jamnagar district.

Route summary by sections

The construction work of the expressway has been divided into 8 sections. With a total of 30 construction packages each with a construction period of 2 years. The projects is expected to be completed by September 2023.
Sr NoSectionLength in kmNo. of packagesStatesLanesAccess controlledGreenfieldComments
1.Tibba –Sangat Kalan 1553Punjab6YesYesThis section is also called the "Amritsar–Bathinda Expressway". Initial plan of 196 km brownfield upgrade of NH-54 was changed to greenfield project in 2020.
2.Sangat Kalan –Chautala 85-Punjab & Haryana6NoNoExisting 2-lane NH-54 will be upgraded to 6-lane.
3.Sangaria –Rasisar 2529Rajasthan6YesYesSangaria - Bijarasar - Kalu
4.Rasisar –Deogarh 1766Rajasthan6YesYesPanchu - Chadi - Osian - Jodhpur –Sanchore 2098Rajasthan6YesYesDeogarh - Kalyanpur - Samdari - Siwana - Mohni Khera - Sanchore
6.Vantdau –Santalpur 1254Gujarat6YesYesVantdau - Uchpa - Vav - Suigam - Dudosan - Santalpur
7.Santalpur –Malia 124-Gujarat4NoNoMinor upgrades to the existing 4-lane NH-27 from Santalpur-Samakhiali-Malia.
8.Malia –Jamnagar131-Gujarat4NoNoMinor upgrades to the existing 4-lane NH-947.
Total1,257304 States6-lanes, 4-lanes5-Yes, 3-No5-Yes, 3-No

Inter-connectivity

Amritsar-Jamnagar Corridor also connects to the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway via Ludhiana-Bhathinda spur and Amritsar Ring Road. As related but separate projects, from Samakhiali the existing highways Samakhiali-Bhachau-Bhimasar-Gandhidham-Mundra, Bhachau-Bhuj, Bhimasar-Anjar-Ratnal-Bhuj will also be upgraded to provide connectivity to other ports and cities.

Status updates

  • 2022 May: Out of the 155-km long NH54 from Amritsar to Bathinda, work was going on in an advanced stage, and the 762-km stretch from Sangaria in Rajasthan to Santalpur in Gujarat, out of which 400 km was completed, while the remaining portion was under construction.
  • 2023 Jul: The construction work on the EC3 expressway started in Haryana and Rajasthan in 2019. The Rajasthan section of the expressway from Jakhrawali in Hanumangarh district to Khetlawas in Jalore district was completed in early 2023 and was inaugurated on 8 July 2023, while the entire expressway is expected to be opened by December 2025.