Govt fixes Rs. 3 lakh-cr road projects on radar

Accelerating the current momentum of delivering road projects, the transport ministry has targeted to award worth Rs. 3 lakh-cr road and highway projects during the new financial year, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, adding that also, on the anvil is augmenting the National Highways length to 2 lakh km by August this year.

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has awarded contracts worth Rs. 1.5 lakh-cr in the last one-and-a-half year and building a world class infrastructure in the highway sector is the top most priority of the current government at the Centre. As a matter of fact, the ministry has decided to sign highways contracts to match the targeted road length as the highways building pace has already reached 20 km a day at present from a mere 2 Km a day when the current government took over and by May it is likely to reach 30 km a day, the minister added claiming that his ministry has already declared 1.52 lakh km of national highways and will take the length to 2 lakh km in next three months.

Moreover, there is a plan to convert all the toll plazas into electronic ones and that 300 truck terminals have been planned along national highways. Also, tenders have been issued for 1200 road-side amenities which apart from rest houses would also include shops to sell local produce, eateries and other products, he said.