Delays in land acquisition and environment clearances have hampered the progress of expressways in the country, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes said.
"Land acquisition and environment (clearances) are some of the issues which one has to deal with. Expressways are greenfield projects and a lot of planning is required," Fernandes told reporters here today.
Expressways are aimed at giving a boost to the economy, the minister said, adding that they would help in the development of industrial areas and housing projects.
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The ministry had in 2006-07 planned to construct 10 expressways. The government accorded approval for building 1,000 km of expressways in the country in October 2011.
The ministry is exploring options such as real estate development to finance the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, the first such highway to be built by the central government.
As per an official report of August 2013, the government has not been able to find a suitable funding model for building expressways, the cost of which has escalated.
Experts put the cost of constructing expressways at Rs 50-80 crore per km compared with Rs 20 crore per km estimated by the National Highways Authority of India in 2010.
According to the report, the government has envisaged developing these projects on a public-private partnership basis and is mulling alternative financial models.
