Pace Of Highway Construction Needs To Be Increased To Kickstart Economic Growth: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday (14 April) said that the construction of highways needs to be increased by up to two-three times to kickstart the economic growth which has been dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting nationwide lockdown, reports Livemint.

While addressing senior industry members of the FICCI via video conferencing, Gadkari said that he has asked the officials to make the best use of the lockdown and work overtime to complete pending work like clearance of dues to the contractors and grant of project approvals, so that the construction activity can resume in full swing as soon as the lockdown is lifted.

Stressing that the clearance of contractor dues will create liquidity in the economy, Gadkari said that he has also asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its arbitration units to decide on matters within three months.

During his interaction with the industry members, Gadkari underscored that infrastructure building, including waterways, power, transport and communication needs to be doubled in order to bring back liquidity in the market.

Meanwhile, Gadkari also called on the industry members to take the present crisis as a challenge and opportunity especially as several nations are looking to move their investments from China. He emphasised that India could be one of the best options for them.