Rs 25 L cr investment in highways, shipping in 5 yrs: Gadkari

To overhaul infrastructure, government is lining up Rs 25 lakh crore for the highways and shipping sectors in 5 years, including Rs 4 lakh crore worth of projects awarded so far, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.
"We are doing massive work in the infrastructure sector. There will be investment worth Rs 25 lakh crore in highways and shipping in 5 years," Gadkari, who holds road transport, highways and shipping, said while addressing the Economic Editors Conference 2016.
His estimate is the investment of Rs 25 lakh crore in the sector is bound to boost GDP by 3 per cent and this will also create at least 5 crore jobs.

According to the minister, so far projects worth Rs 4 lakh crore have been awarded, including projects worth Rs 3.17 lakh crore in highways and Rs 80,000 crore in shipping.
He backed up his claims saying the massive work has led to construction of 22 km of highways per day whereas the ministry is striving to achieve 42 km a day target and is working hard in that direction.
Highway construction target for 2016-17 is 15,000 km and "till October, we constructed 3,591 km", he said.

The minister said the current BJP government so far has constructed 14,594 km of highways while it has awarded projects for construction of 21,247 km.

The government is in the process of finalising project reports of 12 expressways soon and work on the same will start.
Two key projects -- Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways -- will be completed in the next seven months, the minister also said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked us to complete both these projects to decongest Delhi within 400 days and accordingly, the work is going on and we are hopeful to complete these in the next seven months," Gadkari added.
The government remains "committed" to increasing the length of National Highways to 2 lakh km. The length of National Highways has already been increased to 1.65 lakh km, from the earlier 96,000 km.

Also on the priority list of the government is improving infrastructure in the North-East, and Rs 1 lakh crore investment has been pencilled in for the same.
Asked about the delays in projects in Kerala, he pointed to land acquisition as a major hindrance but the situation has improved recently with a new government there.
Gadkari also launched Rs 4,000 crore worth road
connectivity projects in Agra. The projects included Rs 425 crore southern bypass road.
Addressing a public rally in the Taj city, the minister said that work on the Rs 375-crore northern bypass and Rs 1000 crore Agra-Bareilly highway with six lanes will start soon.

He also promised a barrage on Yamuna in Agra and said his next visit to the Taj city would be on a special plane that would land on Yamuna water.
The minister said that logistics costs have to be brought down to promote exports and for this inland waterways on 111 rivers have been proposed. The coastal connectivity was also being streamlined.
He also urged businessmen from Agra to start electric bus services between Delhi and Agra.
Work between Haldia and Varanasi on the Ganges waterway had begun and 45 water ports would be developed, he said.