25 Greenfield Expressways To Be Built at a cost of Rs 6 Lakh Crore: Nitin Gadkari
Gadkari further said 75-80 per cent of the work on the strategic Zojila Tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity between the Ladakh region and the rest of the country, has been completed
New Delhi: Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the government is constructing 25 greenfield expressways, totalling 10,000 km across the country at a cost of Rs 6 lakh crore. “The highways ministry will get Rs 15 lakh crore if it monetises its road projects,” the minister said at an event here.
Addressing the annual session of PHDCCI, Gadkari further said 75-80 per cent of the work on the strategic Zojila Tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity between the Ladakh region and the rest of the country, has been completed. The construction of expressways and economic corridors has helped reduce the country’s logistics costs to 10 per cent, from 16 per cent earlier,” Gadkari said.
As per the industry estimate, logistics costs are 12 per cent in the US, 12 per cent in European countries and 8 to 10 per cent in China. “However, India’s logistics cost will come down to 9 per cent by December, which will help India become more competitive,” the minister said.
On India’s automobile sector, the minister also said that within five years, our target is to make India's automobile industry the number 1 in the world. “When I took charge as transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was Rs 14 lakh crore. The size of the Indian automobile industry now is Rs 22 lakh crore,” Gadkari added.
The mnister further said that the automobile sector provides jobs to 4 lakh youths and provides the highest GST to the centre and states. Presently, the size of the US automobile industry is Rs 78 lakh crore, followed by China Rs 47 lakh crore and India Rs 22 lakh crore.
“India’s dependence on fossil fuels is an economic burden, as Rs 22 lakh crore is spent annually on fuel imports and is an environmental hazard, making the adoption of clean energy crucial for the country's progress. There is a need to focus on agriculture to boost India's GDP growth,” he said.
Gadkari also pointed out that farmers have earned an additional Rs 45,000 crore by producing ethanol from corn. “When we decided to make ethanol from corn, the corn’s market price was Rs 1,200 per quintal, and MSP was Rs 1,800 per quintal. Following the government's decision to blend ethanol into petrol, corn prices increased to Rs 2,800 per quintal. An additional Rs 45,000 crore went into the pockets of farmers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
