New Delhi Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday urged investors to take advantage of the diversified opportunities spread across asset classes in the infrastructure sector including highways, multimodal logistics parks, wayside facilities, ropeways and warehousing zones.
Addressing the National Conference on Investment Opportunities in Highways, Transport and Logistics in Mumbai, Gadkari said: “The internal rate of return in the road sector is very high and hence, there is no need to worry about economic viability. “
He said that earlier delays due to land acquisition have been addressed, and that 90% of the land acquisition is not allotted to the projects before completion and environmental clearance is obtained. Citing various steps taken by his ministry to expedite road construction, he said: “Keep your faith 110 per cent.”
Gadkari also highlighted the benefits of projects under Bharatmala programme. “The travel time by road from Mumbai to Delhi will be reduced from 48 hours to 12 hours in a year; Road and multiple infrastructure projects will reduce logistics cost and boost manufacturing, boost exports and help the economy grow.”
Bharatmala is the flagship program for the development of national highways with a focus on improving the efficiency of freight and passenger movement and development of allied infrastructure.
The national conference informs investors and other stakeholders that the Center plans to execute infrastructure projects 7 trillion in the next 2-3 years.
Gadkari also spoke about the benefits of vehicle scrapping policy. “This will reduce pollution, improve tax revenue, help in the growth of the automobile sector, boost exports and create jobs. This is a win-win situation, where massive investments can come in.”
The objective of the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Policy is to create an ecosystem for phasing out unsuitable and polluting vehicles. He said that 50-70 registered vehicle scrapping facilities would be set up across India in the next five years to meet the expected demand.
Gadkari said 7.5 trillion domestic automobile industry to double 15 trillion over the next five years.
He also stressed on the importance of alternative fuels like ethanol and asked the Maharashtra Transport Department to launch ethanol-powered auto rickshaws in Pune, which has three ethanol distribution stations. “Promoting alternative fuels will ultimately help the scrapping sector as well,” he added.
On the government’s asset monetization programme, Gadkari cited the example of the Mumbai-Pune highway, which brought a high rate of return to the state and the Centre. “Reliance was quoted 3,600 crore for the project, but the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation built it 1,600 crores. Subsequently, the state monetized for 3,000 crores. The same project was recently re-monetized 8,000 crore,” he said.
Giridhar Armane, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said that the Gati Shakti program would benefit from coordinated implementation of infrastructure facilities. “We are conducting scientific logistics effectiveness studies to identify bottlenecks in infrastructure projects. To remove bottlenecks, NHAI has identified 120 congested points across the country; Ring roads and bypasses are being built to decongest the cities. After connecting all the state capitals with at least four lanes of national highways, we are now planning expressways connecting all the important economic centres.
“In order to facilitate the work of the contractors, we have removed all those provisions which led to disputes and caused much pain and loss to the contractors. NHAI held meeting with the contractors and managing directors of concessionaire companies and the problems faced in highway construction have been resolved on the basis of an honest dialogue. This has resulted in a record road construction of 37 km per day last year.”
NHAI chairperson Alka Upadhyay said that it is developing facilities and allied infrastructure under the PM Gati Shakti National Scheme.
“The new thrust is on development of multi-modal logistics parks, last mile connectivity through ropeway projects and allied highway initiatives like fiber cables along national highways. About 8,400 km of greenfield expressways are being built as part of the Bharatmala project. These corridors will change the face of national highways infrastructure and supercharge India into a $5 trillion economy.”
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