Nitin Gadkari backs 51% stake to foreign partners in JV tunnel projects

Nitin Gadkari supported allowing foreign partners to hold up to 51% in tunnel projects, aiming to attract serious bidders and emphasised cost-effective, sustainable solutions

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that he was okay with allowing foreign partners to hold a majority stake of up to 51 per cent in joint ventures (JV) for tunnel construction and DPR (daily progress report) projects. He said the move would attract only serious and technically qualified bidders.

"I seriously feel that foreign partners must have 51 per cent stake, leaving 49 per cent for the Indian companies in JV for building DPR and construction of tunnels…," the Road Transport and Highways minister said during the ‘Tunnelling India’ conference by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), a non-governmental trade association.

In a lighter vein, Gadkari said that in some tunnel projects, European companies have even selected Indian partners who run catering services or beauty parlours for the construction work.

'Need sustainable solution': Gadkari

He also emphasised that while technical and financial parameters should be flexible, they should not compromise on quality. “We need to have a cost-effective, sustainable solution.”

"I probably should not be using the word 'culprit' but I will…,” he said, criticising the DPR makers for their “lack of oversight during the process of constructing tunnels.” He blamed their negligence for incidents like landslides during such projects and emphasised on the need to check frequent landslides in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan areas.

'Reducing logistics can boost exports': Gadkari

Gadkari also said that India could increase its exports by around 1.5 times if logistics costs are reduced to 9 per cent. According to estimates from the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India's logistics costs were between 7.8 per cent and 8.9 per cent of GDP in the financial year 2021-22.

At the event, Dinesh Chand Deshwal, Commissioner-Railway Safety (Northern Circle), noted that it was not possible to eliminate the possibility of any failure in the tunnelling process because of geology surprises.

Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan, director general of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), highlighted that the opportunities for tunnelling in India are boundless and emphasised the strategic importance of projects that provide all-weather connectivity, and shorter travel distances.

(With agency inputs)