Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari stated on June 17 that the government is working to expand the National Highway network to 2 lakh kilometres by 2025.
Other establishments proposed by union minister
Gadkari also proposed the establishment of “Innovation Bank” for new ideas, research findings, and technologies to focus on quality in infrastructure development while speaking at an event hosted by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).
“Our government is dedicatedly working towards expanding the National Highway network to 2 lakh kilometres by 2025,” he said.
Length of NH increased by more than 50%
The minister noted that the length of National Highways has increased by more than 50% in the last eight years, from 91,000 km in 2014 to approximately 1.47 lakh km now.
Noting that the government is deeply committed to the development of the northeast region, he stated that NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation) is playing a critical role in the development of infrastructure in this region.
“Till date, 2,344 km highway has been constructed at the cost of Rs 45,000 crore in the North East region,” Gadkari said.
Modi’s vision to make india 5 trillion dollar economy
The minister said infrastructure development has an important role in fulfilling the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a 5 trillion-dollar economy.
Innovation should be the focus area for all engineers and IRC should develop a world-class state-of-art laboratory with the help of IITs and global institutions, Gadkari said.
There should be minimum carbon footprints and exploitation of limited natural resources during the construction and operation phase, he added.
According to Gadkari, a sustainable alternative for steel and cement should be found.
