'I did that...': Nitin Gadkari recalls rejecting Reliance's Rs 3600 crore bid, upsetting Dhirubhai Ambani

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is known for his development works in the country including various national highways. However, the minister recently revealed that he once upset Reliance Industries founder and Mukesh Ambani’s father Dhirubhai Ambani when he cancelled Reliance’s Rs 3,600 crore bid to build the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in 1995. Back then, Gadkari was PWD minister in Maharashtra between 1995 and 1999. 

In a conversation with Siddharth Aalambayan for Mashable India, Gadkari said, “I had rejected Reliance’s tender of Rs 3,600 crore. There was a lot of noise after that. I did that project for Rs 1,600 crore, which would be Rs 20,000 crore today, saving Rs 2,000 crore. Even today, there are no pits and the road is good”.

The minister further added Dhirubhai Ambani was upset because Reliance’s bid had been rejected. “Dhirubhai was upset initially, but he was a very big person. He said, ‘if I did not get it, I did not get it, but the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is required. He first told me this [building the project at a low cost] wasn’t possible and you do not have the strength to do it, but later when he saw that it was happening fast. He was very happy. He called me and said, ‘you are like my son, if the country finds five-seven people like you, country’s future will change,” Gadkari added in the interaction with Aalambayan.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Raigad-Navi Mumbai-Mumbai. The expressway was fully operationalized in 2002.

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