Road sector to need Rs 3.5 lakh cr investments in 3 yrs: Nath

Roads construction in the country would require an investment of about Rs 3.5 lakh crore in the next three years, Transport Minister Kamal Nath said today.

"An investment to the tune of $70 billion would be required in the road sector in next three years. The private sector participation is expected to be about $40 billion of which $10 billion is expected from the foreign investors," Nath said at a road show organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Singapore.

Urging the investors to come to come to India, he said the processes would be made investor friendly in the light of the experience gained in the last five years, according to an official statement.

He added that land acquisitions would not be an impediment for them to invest in India. "The issue of land acquisition is not a contentious issue as far as the road sector is concerned but only a managerial issue," he added.

Nath said the growth in Indian economy, as manifested in the purchasing power, growth of vehicular population coupled with growth in traffic, would necessitate the growth of the road sector.