The golden quadrilateral project

The 'golden quadrilateral' will connect Delhi from the north to Kolkata in the east along 1,469 kms of national highway 2. Kolkata to Chennai, in the south, will be linked along national highways 5,6 and 60, traversing a distance of 1,745 kms.

From Chennai upto Mumbai, national highways 4,7 and 46 will form the next part of the grid, traversing a distance of 1,302 kms. From Mumbai, the quadrilateral will link Delhi through national highway 8. Andhra Pradesh with 1,014 kms will have the longest stretch of the quadrilateral, while Delhi with just 25 kms will have the shortest stretch.

The overall supervision and execution of the project rests with the nodal authority, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which has the mandate to implement the NHDP.

The NHDP is a major initiative to enhance the traffic capacity of the country's highways, which constitute less than two per cent of India's road network but carry 40 per cent of the traffic.

Transport patterns, according to NHAI, have shifted from the rail network to the roads as almost 85 per cent of the passenger traffic and 70 per cent of the freight now moves by road.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded contracts to private companies for developing the golden quadrilateral on a build, operate and transfer / annuity basis.