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The re-elected UPA government in order to boost the slow moving economy is keen on speeding up the process of constructing highways and rail freight corridors in its current term.
As of now, the prime agenda on the government’s priority list is to develop 40,000 km of roads which would cost Rs 60,000 crore and also to rapidly increase India’s capacity to produce railways rolling stock.
The Railways has a target of investing Rs 2,30,000 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan. It expects to complete gauge conversion on 4,900 km of rail tracks and double 1,800 kms of rail lines during this period. The government is also planning to simultaneously lay down another 1,100 km new rail lines .
Construction of the double-line eastern dedicated freight corridor has already begun. A railways ministry official told,“Dedicated freight corridors would increase railways’ share in the movement of freight and bring down logistics cost.”
Meanwhile, the government has decided to construct and upgrade 40,000 km of highways on annuity (fully-funded by the state) basis.
According to a surface transport ministry official, “It would be necessary to plan for the development of these roads as part of the third stimulus package to the economy on the basis of annuity contracts”.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the nodal agency for highway development in the country, is expected to award 35 new road projects in the current financial year. It managed to award only eight projects in 2008-09 against a target of 60. The Economic Times
May 25, 2009
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