PM calls for transparency in road projects

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for transparency in awarding highway projects to eliminate the possibility of favouratism or crony capitalism.

"It is necessary to demonstrate that the award, construction and operation of these (highways) projects is based on a fair and transparent approach which eliminates any suspicion of favouratism or what might be described as crony capitalism," he said at the conference of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in National Highways.

He further said that for a large road building programme, "efficiency, economy, competition and transparency are vital touchstones that should be used for judging our level of success. These are especially important when we deal with the private sector.

"We must remember that these are public projects where public interest must be foremost in our mind," he added.

The government plans to double investment in infrastructure projects to $1 trillion to achieve a GDP growth rate of 9% during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17).

 "It goes without saying that it seems a very challenging task, but I am convinced that our economy has the resilience to live up to challenges that lie ahead", he added.