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 (10 December).

"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 in Bengaluru.

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.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)