Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway


Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway is an under-construction long, 4-lane wide controlled-access expressway, which will connect Bahadurgarh border near Delhi with Katra in Jammu and Kashmir via Haryana and Punjab. It will have a spur section which will connect Nakodar with Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport located in Raja Sansi, Amritsar. The long Delhi–Katra Expressway is National Expressway 5 '' and long Nakodar-Amritsar Expressway is National Expressway 5A '.' Once completed, it will reduce the current Delhi-Katra distance from to and the time travel will be reduced from 14 hours to 6 hours, and Delhi-Amritsar distance to and from the time travel will be reduced from 8 hours to only 4 hours.
It will have a trauma centre, ambulances, fire brigades, traffic police, bus bays, truck stops, interchanges with refreshment, and recreational facilities. To be constructed as a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, it is expected to cost 40,000 crores. Detailed Project Report was completed in November 2019, and land acquisition commenced from January 2020. M/S Feedback Infra Pvt Ltd. was appointed as DPR consultant to carry out alignment studies which submitted the final shortest proposed alignment report of Delhi–Nakodar–Gurdaspur section in September 2019, Nakodar–Amritsar section in June 2020, and the survey is currently under progress in Jammu section. It is part of Ludhiana-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor. There are 11 National industrial corridors and numerous state level industrial corridors in India.

Project details

It is a combination of greenfield and brownfield expressway which passes through Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. It starts from Kundli Manesar Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Nilauthi village in Jhajjar district. It will lessen the workload of Grand Trunk Road. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of the NDA government planned to construct ten expressways in the country under Bharatmala Pariyojana, one of which would connect the national capital Delhi with Katra and Amritsar via Kharkhoda, Gohana, Jind, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur.
The Greenfield expressway splits into two near Nakodar. One greenfield section towards Amritsar would pass nearby Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadoor Sahib, TarnTarn and ends near Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport. The second section goes straight to Katra through Gurdaspur, bypassing Kathua and Jammu, and it consists of both greenfield and brownfield parts. Central and state governments also agreed to connect Dera Baba Nanak and Kartarpur Corridor with this expressway project. Nearly 14,000 acres of land in Punjab and 5,000 acres of Haryana will be acquired to construct these expressways.

Construction

The NHAI has divided the construction work of Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway into 2 phases with a total of 21 construction packages.

Phase 1

  • The construction work of long DelhiNakodarGurdaspur section is divided into 12 packages. Package 8 to 12 has been awarded to the joint venture of Evrascon and MKC Infrastructure Limited.
Sr. No.PackageSegment LengthContractor
1.Nilauthi –Rukhi Pana KCC Buildcon
2.Rukhi Pana –Gangana CDS Infra Projects
3.Gangana –Alewa KCC Buildcon
4.Alewa –Kharak Pandwa NKC Projects
5.Kharak Pandwa –Ghagga CDS Infra Projects
6.Ghagga –Bhawanigarh Shiv Build India
7.Bhawanigarh –Bhogiwal Ceigall India
8.Bhogiwal –Mullanpur Dakha Evrascon – MKCIL JV
9.Mullanpur DakhaNakodarKang SahbuEvrascon – MKCIL JV
10.Kang Sahbu –Khojewal Evrascon – MKCIL JV
11.Khojewal –Sri HargobindpurEvrascon – MKCIL JV
12.Sri HargobindpurGurdaspurEvrascon – MKCIL JV

Nakodar–Amritsar spur

  • The construction work of long NakodarAmritsar spur section is divided into 3 packages. Nakodar–Amritsar section will merge with DelhiNakodarGurdaspur section on Package-9.
Sr. No.PackageSegment LengthContractor
1.Nakodar –Dhunda SP Singla Constructions
2.Dhunda –Manawala Khurd Ceigall India
3.Manawala Khurd –Harsha Chhina Vozrozhdenie India

Phase 2

Sr. No.PackageSegment LengthContractor
13.Details awaitedTender Notice pending
14.Balsua –Gurah Baildaran Megha Engineering & Infrastructures
15.Gurah Baildaran – Jakh Vishwa Samudra Engineering
16.Jakh –Jammu Airport Shivalaya Construction Company
17.Kunjwani – Sidhra & Domel – Katra Apco Infratech
18.Details awaitedGawar Construction

Route alignment

Delhi to Nakodar (Main route)

The Phase-1 of Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway consists of two sections, namely DelhiNakodarGurdaspur and NakodarAmritsar. The Phase-2 consists of GurdaspurKatra section. Following is the alignment agreed by the Governments of Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir with the NHAI.

Delhi

Haryana to Kanjhawala extension: DPR was being prepared for this 20 km section in March 2025, which will be ready by Sept-Oct 2025, after which tenders for constructions will be invited.

[Haryana]

Alignment is from Nilothi-Kharkhoda–Gohana –Jind –Safidon –Ratoli –Assandh –Kalayat–Kaithal –Barta. There is a proposal to extend it in Delhi from Nilothi to "Urban Extension Road II".

Punjab">Punjab, India">Punjab

Nakodar to Amritsar (Spur-1)

First greenfield expressway spur from Nakodar to Amritsar through Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadur Sahib, Tarn Taran Sahib and ends at Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport.

Punjab">Punjab, India">Punjab

Nakodar to Katra (Spur-2)

Second greenfield expressway spur from Nakodar to Katra passing through Kartarpur, Gurdaspur, and Dinanagar.

Punjab">Punjab, India">Punjab

Jammu and Kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)">Jammu and Kashmir

Inter-connectivity

Following provide the inter-connectivity:Amritsar:

Status updates

2017 Dec: National Highways Authority of India appointed a consultant to prepare the Detailed Project Report within 10 months by Oct 2018.2019 Nov: DPR of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway completed by NHAI.2020 Jun–Jul: In Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, the land acquisition process started. 2021 Apr: Construction work awarded by NHAI for all 12 packages on 397.7 Km long Delhi-Nakodar-Gurdaspur section, and 2 out of 3 packages on 99km long Nakodar-Amritsar section.2021 Sep: NHAI announces the completion deadline is by October 2023.2022 Apr: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the expressway on 5 January and construction started. Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate operational parts of partially completed expressway before 2024 LS polls: Nitin Gadkari.2024 Aug: Likely completion date for Delhi-Ludhiana Katra is 31 December 2025 and 1 April 2026 for the Ludhiana-Amritsar spur. 669 km Delhi-Katra expressway almost complete in most states except Punjab due to the land acquisition issues in Punjab. Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir packages are 80-90% complete. In Punjab, where the completion rate for various packages is 3% to 90%, only 273 km is complete and 362 km is incomplete. In Punjab of the total 295 km of land required, the land acquisition of 230 km is complete in 11 out of 13 districts except Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, the remaining 65 km will be acquired by the end of September 2024.2025 Nov: Due to the land acquisition issues in some parts of Punjab the completion date of the expressway is pushed back to June 2026. NHAI is actively trying to resolve the issues with the farmers for the completion of the project without any further delay.