New Delhi: Government has taken a slew of steps to develop sea ports and water ports, and the industry should invest in the development of inland waterways, said Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. "The government has initiated steps to develop water ports and sea ports and is looking to build satellite dry ports for connecting the land locked areas with the nearest sea and water ports," Gadkari said.
While asking the industry to invest in the development of inland waterways, the minister said, "India is yet to tap the potential of waterways despite the fact that this mode of transport is much more cost effective compared to road and rail transport."
He was addressing the annual general meeting of FICCI here. The government is also planning to develop floating helipads and hotels which will boost tourism in the country, he said emphasising the need to control pollution. For controlling pollution, the government will promote in a big way the use of biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol for public transport in the cities and school buses and also introduce electric buses, he said. He said that biogas can be generated from city waste for use in industry and transport, while stressing that increased use of biofuels will also help curbing crude oil import.
The government is addressing on priority bottlenecks in the execution of road projects, the minister said. Gadkari added that he would shortly meet RBI Governor to provide for directives to all leading commercial banks to facilitate projects finance at concessional rates for roads, ports and shipping projects.
