Nitin Gadkari keen to achieve 40 km a day road construction target

Minister further said he intends to complete infrastructure work worth Rs 25 lakh crore in 5 years

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that efforts are being made to further improve the road construction target to 40 km a day from the current 23 km per day.

The minister said that 8,144 km of roads were constructed last financial year. His ministry, Gadkari said, on an average has recorded road construction of 23 km a day as against two km a day when the UPA government was in power.

"I had fixed the target of 40 km per day but I was not able to achieve that but... I am hopeful of achieving this target," he said while addressing a national conference on the steel sector.

The minister further said he intends to complete infrastructure work worth Rs 25 lakh crore in five years.

Gadkari said all these initiatives would give a huge boost to the steel and cement sectors.

Till March 31, the ministry has already alloted projects worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore in roads and ports sectors, he added.

The government has decided to increase the length of national highways from the existing 96,000 km to two lakh km.

"We have fast-tracked the decision-making process for the projects," he added.

Gadkari said there are also plans to make 11 expressways including Delhi-Katra and Delhi-Jaipur.

"We will complete these two projects before August 15," he said, adding that work on Mumbai-Baroda Expressway would start in three months' time.