We've speeded up road construction: Baalu

Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping TR Baalu today said the pace of highway construction under the United Progressive Alliance government had more than doubled to 4.5 km a day during the last six months.

Baalu told the Economic Editors' Conference that between June 2002 and May 2004, 2.2 km of road was completed daily under the Golden Quadrilateral project. Work on the project started in January 1999.

About 4,924 km or 75 per cent of the project will be completed by December 2004, barring certain stretches like the Allahabad By-pass delayed due to a court case. On two other stretches, there was a delay due to the termination of contracts.

Baalu said land acquisition was a major problem faced by his ministry. He added that without the co-operation of state governments, the National Highway Authority of India, which was executing the Golden Quadrilateral project, was helpless.

The minister announced that the Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana would be renamed the National Highway Development Project Phase-III, and would be completed by 2010.

The 10,000-km of road stretches, identified under NHDP-III, is expected to cost Rs 55,000 crore. This phase will comprise stretches of national highways carrying a high volume of traffic, connecting state capitals with the NHDP I and II networks and connecting places of economic, tourist and commercial importance.

Baalu said a comprehensive Road Transport Policy would be announced by the ministry in consultation with the Planning Commission. The shipping ministry would be preparing a Cabinet note for making the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the free-on-board basis, where the importing country would make the shipping arrangements.

"We had sent the proposal regarding this to the commerce ministry. In the absence of a response, we would go ahead with the Cabinet note ourselves," the minister said.

The move is aimed at promoting LNG shipping among domestic companies. The Directorate General of Shipping had recently issued guidelines on LNG shipping, which make it mandatory for companies shipping LNG to have 26 per cent stake by an Indian company.