India Will Spend ₹15 Lakh Crores To Construct Roads By 2023: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways aims to spend around ₹15 lakh crore to construct roads and highways across the country in the next two years. The Centre has already allowed 100 percent FDI in the road and highways sector which will further boost his ministry’s resources to achieve the target. Gadkari is confident that his ministry will be able to improve its performance in the current fiscal and achieve the target of 40 kilometers of highway construction every day.

Addressing Indo-US Partnership Vision Summit, Nitin Gadkari said that there is a huge opportunity for investment in the infrastructure sector in India. The Indian government is working to build world-class infrastructure for its citizen. It aims to improve highways, roads, and ports. There’s a huge opportunity for investment in infrastructure including airports, metro rail, railway stations. There is also an opportunity for investment now in the electricity in public transport.

Road infrastructure in India has been progressing at a rapid rate with a record 37 km of roads being built every day. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently achieved a major feat by building a four-lane highway of 2,580 meters in length within 24 hours, creating a world record.

Also, Read This: Indian Railways Infrastructure Spend To Reach Record Rs 1.6 Lakh Crores

By March 20 this year, India has built 1,37,625 kms of highways compared to only 91,287 kms in April 2014. During this period, India has also spent five times more money to construct highways. Gadkari said that India has added more than 50 percent length of national highways in the past seven years.

During the summit Gadkari said that in the new era of bilateral relations, the national interests of India and the United States are converging and there is growing confidence between both the administrations that all outstanding trade issues will be resolved and major trade agreements will be signed soon. The Minister invited the US companies to invest in infrastructure and MSME sectors in India.

Recently, Gadkari had also urged agencies involved in road building projects across India to create an infrastructure fund to finance road projects. He cited examples like Indian Railways, which has an arm called the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), and the power ministry which has Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to show where his ministry is lacking as far as funding is concerned.