Union Minister Gadkari sets target to construct 60 kms of highway per day

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said his target is to construct 60 kilometres of highways per day.

Gadkari further said good road infrastructure creates prosperity and employment.

"We are constructing 40 kilometers of highways per day, our target is to construct 60 kilometers of highways per day," he said at an event organised by Entrepreneurs' Organisation Gurugram Chapter.

While the pace of National Highway (NH) construction in the country had touched a record 37 kilometres per day in 2020-21, it had slowed to 28.64 kilometres a day in 2021-22 due to pandemic-related disruptions and a longer-than-usual monsoon in some parts of the country.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) are primarily responsible for the construction of national highways and expressways across the country.

The official target of highway construction has been kept at 12,000 kilometres for the current financial year.

The ministry had constructed 10,237 kilometres in 2019-20, 13,327 kilometres in 2020-21 and 10,457 kilometres in 2021-22.

Gadkari also said green hydrogen is the future and India should become an exporter of green hydrogen.