India, March 12 -- New Delhi

The 667-km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway will now be completed in phases up to March 2028, with several stretches facing delays and some contracts being foreclosed and re-tendered, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The expressway connecting Delhi with Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir is expected to reduce the Delhi-Amritsar distance by around 40 km and cut travel time to about five hours. The journey from Delhi to Katra is expected to take around seven hours once the project is completed.

Gadkari said contracts for four stretches covering 147.66 km have been foreclosed and fresh bids have been invited to complete the work. These include Section V...