 "Tall promises would require dynamic approach")
The ambitious manifesto of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) promises of 'all-weather roads' for every village and aims to build 'Diamond Quadrilateral' of High Speed Train network in India. But limited availability of state funds and low participation from private sector will be the key bottlenecks ahead.
Key border and coastal projects, highly important from security and strategic perspective have been in limbo because of high cost of construction.
The manifesto has laid special emphasis on the projects in Jammu and Kashmir and North-east region. Though the earlier government led by Manmohan Singh had given priority to North-East projects forming a special ministry and the Udhampur to Katra rail line is soon to start, much still remains to be done with aggressive border infrastructure built by Chinese government.
Expediting the work on dedicated freight corridors, national highways, modernisation of airports and exploring the potential for inland air transportation are the other key measures that the manifesto had spoken of.
One of the key measures which could soon be a reality is an Integrated Transport ministry which will include roadways, railways and waterways working for better co-ordination and planning.
With development of new ports and modernizing existing ports, the new government has envisioned in its manifesto of 'stringing together' the ports under the 'Sagar Mala' project.
Though manifesto makes wishful promise of encouraging investment from private sector, the specific challenges of low viability gap funding by the government, long gestation period of infrastructure projects and uncertainty of profits would require dynamic thinking and flexible approach from the new government to end the current mess in the PPP area and boost investor confidence.
Developing national logistics network and Agri Rail network to cater to the specific needs of perishable products like milk and vegetables is another innovative measure spoken of in the BJP manifesto.