MUMBAI: PWD minister

on Saturday announced in the Upper House that one can soon drive to Goa from Mumbai in 4-5 hours along a 500-km greenfield expressway that the government is planning on the lines of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway. Currently, it takes 11-13 hours to cover the distance.

The proposed expressway will begin where the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link ends at Chirle village in Navi Mumbai and hug the coast along Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg before ending at Patradevi village on the Maharashtra-Goa bouder.

The MSRDC has been asked to draw up an environment-friendly project report.

"The expressway will open up tourism opportunities in the Konkan, generating jobs for locals and giving travellers a chance to enjoy the Konkan coast. It will also give producers of mango, cashew, and areca nuts a direct access to international markets," the minister said.