Cabinet to consider setting up firm for road projects

The government is likely to consider a proposal for setting up a company, National Highways Construction Company Ltd, for building roads in border areas and northeastern regions.
The Cabinet in its meeting scheduled for tomorrow may approve the Road Ministry's proposal, of setting up a new company National Highways Construction Company Ltd for building roads in border areas and in the north eastern region of the country, a source privy to the development said.
"NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) mainly does road projects on build, own and operate basis all over the country and this proposed company will focus only on constructing border roads and highways in the Northeast," a Road Ministry official said when asked about the need for a separate company.

The government may put in close to Rs 30 crore capital initially in the company.
At present the country's road network is 33 lakh km, of which over 79,000 km are National Highways.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also hopeful of getting four more proposals cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs soon.
"We have four more proposals for the CCEA, we hope that they are taken up soon as the model code of conduct is unlikely to have a impact on them," an official said.