New Delhi: The Rs 99,728-crore plan for
building roads this fiscal by the Transport Ministry has set
the ball rolling for a quantum jump in road network in
the states.
The Ministry has set a target of constructing 1,100 km of
road network in backward areas of Rajasthan entailing an
expenditure to the tune of Rs 10,386 crore, as per an official
document.
The projects includes construction of four-lane and
six-lane highways on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
Insurgency-hit Jammu & Kashmir is set to see
construction of 239 km of road network on annuity mode at a
cost of Rs 9,629 crore, the work plan for the current
fiscal mentions.
Coastal states of Kerala, Orissa and Maharashtra follow
Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir in terms of investment envisaged
in the current fiscal as the Ministry has plans for awarding
Rs 8037 crore, Rs 7,963 crore and Rs 7,208 crore road projects
in the states respectively.
Among the rest of the states Tamil Nadu will see
construction of 1,403 km of road network at a cost of Rs 7555
crore while West Bengal plans worth Rs 6,081 crore.
The states set to see investment in range of Rs 4,000
crore to Rs 6,000 crore include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, while the rest
of the states will see projects less than Rs 4,000 crore each.
Of the Rs 99,728 crore plans for construction of 11,900
km of road network across the country, nine projects worth Rs
12,154 crore had already been awarded, Road Transport and
Highways Minister Kamal Nath said.
"Another six projects worth Rs 8,600 crore for
constructing 527 km of roads will be awarded in next two-three
weeks` period," Nath said.
The Ministry plans adding 35,000 km of road network in
the next five years and is targeting USD 100 billion
investment in the road sector during the period, which
includes USD 10 billion as foreign direct investment.
Bureau Report
