The Indian Government has approved $1.36bn (Rs6,152 crore) for projects across the country involving the upgrade of nearly 562km of four-lane highways into six lanes.

The projects include creating six lanes on 435km of highways in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat at a cost of $943.5m (Rs 4,279.94 crore), as part of the Golden Quadrilateral scheme.

The projects also involve four/six laning of 122.87km stretch on Maharashtra-Goa and Goa-Karnataka border at nearly $412.7m (Rs 1,872 crore).

Major projects include the 140.35km Pune-Satara section on National Highway (NH)-4 in Maharashtra, the 56.16km Samakhiali-Gandhidham section on NH-8A in Gujarat and the 242.51km Udaipur-Ahmedabad section on NH-8 in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The projects will be carried out under a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis with a concession period planned for 24-30 years.

The projects form part of the government’s plans for the six-laning of 6,500km of the existing four-lane highways announced in 2006.