Government plans to sell road projects to foreign pension fund

New Delhi: The government plans to sell highways projects worth Rs1 lakh crore to foreign pension and insurance funds to attract overseas investments into the sector, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. “We are trying to attract foreign investors. We have projects worth Rs1 lakh crore. They are interested in buying out projects. We have gone to the Cabinet for these projects which we can sell to foreign pension and insurance funds,” the minister said at Mindmine Summit here.

The minister said that next month he will be visiting Japan and would urge the pension funds there to invest in infrastructure in India. “We will ensure that land acquisition and all clearances are there for projects,” he added. He said the government plans to bring investments worth Rs5 lakh crore in road sector in five years and has already signed contracts for projects worth

Rs1 lakh crore in the first year.

“The biggest question before the government is to push growth engine,” he said, adding that when the NDA government took over, projects worth Rs3.80 lakh crore were stuck for want of land, environment and forest clearances and railway over-bridges approval. He said the road ministry has gone to the Cabinet with regard to 26 projects which have technical problems. “Twenty-six projects have problems, we wanted to sell equity and have gone to the Cabinet. The problems will be solved by next month,” he said.