Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the ministry has awarded works to the tune of ₹15 lakh crore, including spending ₹2 lakh crore in Andhra Pradesh. He participated, through video conference, as the guest of honour at the Indian Institute of Management-Visakhapatnam’s (IIM-V) two-day flagship annual business conclave ‘Vriddhi’, which concluded on Sunday.
Speaking on ‘the role of infrastructure development for realising India’s five-trillion-dollar economy goal’, Mr. Gadkari spoke on the Union government’s vision for the promotion of integrated infrastructure under ‘PM Gati Shakti national plan’. He said the thrust was on development of road infrastructure and allied highway initiatives like Multi-Modal Logistics Parks(MMLPs) and other infrastructure development.
Mr. Gadkari said that India’s current annual petroleum product imports stand at ₹8 lakh crore and it was estimated to reach the ₹25 lakh crore mark in the next five years. He underlined the need to concentrate on ethanol and other bio fuels. The Union government was working towards the development of a national highway network of 2 lakh km by 2025.
