SME Times News Bureau | 12 Dec, 2019
The government would spend a whopping Rs 5 lakh crore
over the next two years in infrastructure projects to spur the economy and
create thousands of jobs, Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said
on Tuesday.
"We will spend Rs 2 lakh crore in infrastructure projects in this fiscal
(2019-20) and Rs 3 lakh crore in the next fiscal (2020-21) to boost the economy
and generate employment in thousands," Gadkari said at a trade event.
Asserting that there was no dearth of funds for the infrastructure sector, the
minister said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) would lease land
flanking the highways across the country for building petrol-filling stations,
logistics parks, bus ways and parking plazas to generate Rs 30,000 crore
annually from the transport ecosystem.
"We have invited IIT engineers to develop technologies that will reduce
the cost of constructing world class roads and highways across the
country," Gadkari told the stakeholders at the 10th edition of CII-Excon
2019, organised by the India Inc's apex body, Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII), at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on the city's
outskirts.
NHAI will step up building roads and highways up to 40 km daily by March from
30 km daily presently.
The five-day biennial event with the theme "Smart I-tech Next Gen India
@75" is a convergent platform for showcasing advancements, innovations and
latest developments in the constructions sector the world over.
"Around 1,250 firms, including 390 from overseas, are participating in the
expo," the event's committee member Sandeep Singh said on the occasion.
The event will explore ways and means to attract women in the male-driven
sector through a special initiative launched recently, Women Building India.