Government lowers target for highway construction
April 26th, 2010 - 4:22 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, April 26 (IANS) The Indian government has lowered its target for building highways to 12-13 km a day from 20 km in the current fiscal due to lack of adequate infrastructure and technology.
“We have lowered the achievable target for building highways from 20 km per day to 12-13 km. This (20 km per day of highway construction) is not possible. For that (20 km target per day) we have to develop a system which will require adequate infrastructure and technology,” Road and Transport Minister Kamal Nath said here Monday.
The government last year had set a target of building 20 km of highways every day as part of its plans to improve infrastructure, crucial to the country’s economic growth. It has allowed 100-percent foreign direct investment in the sector.
But so far it has been able to build less than 10 km a day due to problems in acquiring land and awarding contracts.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Nath said the government will award contracts to build 15,000 km of highways by March 2011, of which 6,000 km is the backlog.
He also said work would be expedited to meet the target for this year involving private parties through the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) route.
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