Next decade will be of infra: Nath

Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Kamal Nath has kick-started his campaign in Singapore to woo foreign players to invest in the road sector in India.

Addressing the investors at ‘Building India: India Infrastructure Summit’ today, Nath said India’s next decade would be of infrastructure. He said infrastructure would be the defining sector for India in the coming decade as was information technology in the 1990s and the present decade.

He also invited the investors to come out with suggestions to make the present process more attractive for them. Stressing on the vast investment potential in the road sector, he said that his ministry aimed to construct 7,000 km of roads a year.

The minister told investors that with a projected traffic growth of 7 per cent and vehicle growth of 12 per cent per annum along with vast demand from the booming rural sector, India’s road sector presents great potential for growth and private sector participation.

Nath also informed the investors that the ministry was taking steps towards reforming the processes, carrying out structural changes at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and also planning for capacity building for both the contractors and the authority.

Hailing public-private partnership (PPP) as one of the most suitable models for the road sector, he said that of the 12,000 km road aimed for the next year, 7,000 km will be built on the BOT toll basis, while the remaining 5,000 km will be on the annuity and engineering procurement construction basis.

The minister will tomorrow attend a conclave on enhancing international cooperation in the road sector, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The road show in Singapore, jointly organised by ICICI Bank and JM Financial Institutional Securities Private Ltd, completes the Asia tranche of the events. A similar road show was organised in Mumbai last week.

Road shows in Europe and the US are planned in the coming months. The sector’s investment requirements till 2012 are pegged at $12 billion. This is the first time that the ministry has planned to organise such road shows.