The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to the mega highway plan to develop over 83,000 km of roads at an investment of Rs 6.9 lakh crore in next 5 years. This is the largest ever highway development plan and is considered to be a major booster to the slowing economy. The government also approved the Bharatmala project which is part of country's biggest highway development plan. In the project the government plans to develop and expand approximately 35,000 km of roads at an investment of Rs 5.3 lakh crore by 2022. The project also entails constructing 6,000 km long inter corridor and feeder routes, 2,000 km of border and international connectivity roads, 5,000 km to be upgraded under the national corridor efficiency programme, 800 km of greenfield expressways, 10,000 km under the national highway development programme and 2,000 km of coastal and port connectivity roads. The funding of the Bharatmala project will be through market borrowings, central road funds, monetising government-owned road assets, and budgetary allocation. "For the highway construction programme, Rs 2.09 lakh will come from market borrowing, Rs 1.06 lakh crore is expected to come through private investment and Rs 2.19 lakh crore will come from the central road fund and through toll operate transfer model. The reforms are aimed at ensuring that the time taken for transportation of goods is reduced substantially. In the short run, this will help in the upliftment of infrastructure sector and creation of jobs.
Courtesy/By: Saurav Tibrewal
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25 Oct 2017
