New Delhi: The government is constructing 25 greenfield expressways, totalling 10,000 km across the country, at a cost of Rs 6 lakh crore, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.
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. He said the highways ministry will get Rs 15 lakh crore if it monetises its road projects.
The road transport and highways minister also said that the construction of expressways and economic corridors has helped reduce the country’s logistics costs to 10 per cent, from 16 per cent earlier.
“India’s logistics cost will come down to 9 per cent by December, which will help India become more competitive,” he said. Logistics costs are 12 per cent in the US, 12 per cent in European countries and 8 to 10 per cent in China.
Talking about India’s automobile sector, the minister said, “Within five years, our target is to make India’s automobile industry the number 1 in the world,” the minister said. “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.
He said 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).
He noted that 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.
The minister said there is a need to focus on agriculture to boost India’s GDP growth.
Gadkari 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.
He said air pollution in Delhi is a serious problem, and reducing it should be a priority for the government. Gadkari also informed that so far 80 lakh tons of solid waste have been used for road construction by NHAI. “Delhi has four garbage mountains; it does not look good. We have segregated 80 lakh tons of waste and used it in road construction,” he added.