Union Govt To Execute Highway Projects Worth Over Rs 7 Lakh Crore In Next Two To Three Years

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari has urged investors to come forward and invest boldly in the infrastructure sector, which offers a diverse array of investment opportunities spanning multiple asset classes, including highways, multimodal logistics parks, wayside amenities, ropeways, warehousing zones and more.

Addressing the National Conference on Investment Opportunities in Highways, Transport and Logistics in Mumbai on Friday (17 December), 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."

Gadkari said, "earlier, projects used to get stalled due to land acquisition issues. But we decided the project will not be awarded before 90 per cent land acquisition is complete and environment clearance is obtained."

The Minister also spoke about the many benefits of upcoming projects under the Bharatmala Programme.

"The travel time from Mumbai to Delhi, via road, will go down from 48 hours to 12 hours within one year; road projects and multimodal infrastructure projects will reduce logistics costs and boost manufacturing, increase exports and help the economy grow," he said.

Bharatmala Project is the umbrella flagship program for national highway development, focusing on improving the efficiency of freight and passenger movement and the development of allied infrastructure projects.

Speaking about the Asset Monetization roadmap, Gadkari cited the example of Mumbai – Pune Highway, which has brought a higher rate of returns to the state and the government.

"Reliance had quoted Rs 3,600 crores for the project. However we decided to build it through MSRDC for Rs 1,600 crores. Later on the Maharashtra government monetized it for Rs 3,000 crores and just recently the same project was again monetized for Rs 8,000 crores," he explained.

"The National Conference informed investors and other stakeholders that the ministry has planned to execute infrastructure projects worth Rs 7 lakh crore in the next two to three years itself," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.