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The ministry, he said under the NDA government has speeded up the rate of construction of road projects, adding that while during the UPA government about 2 km of roads were being laid every day. It has now speeded up to 12 km a day.
He lamented that the cost of materials for many of the projects were very high now because of the cost of procuring the materials. He cited the case of huge quantities of sand being imported into Kerala from Thailand because of the ban on sand mining in the state. Citing another example of how costs have gone up with regards to road construction , he said, “The cost of construction is going up in Bihar because of the import of aggregates from Jharkhand as there is a ban on mining in Bihar.”
Meanwhile, he said, the Centre is looking to intensify the use of inland waterways for transport. He said, about 47 per cent of good are transported in China on its inland waterways. He added that about 42 per cent of goods are transported on the waterways in Korea and Japan as well. Towards developing the water transport in India, he said initially investments will be made on developing a stretch of the Ganga, and then in Kerala, Mahanadi and Brahmaputra too the waterways will be made suitable for water transport.
He said, by developing water transport, India will be able to solve its water problems.
Gadkari lamented that many of the projects proposed by the previous government remain hanging in balance, and this has meant a need for funds to complete those projects.
Meanwhile, Gadkari said that the NDA government would table, during the current session, a new Motor Vehicles Act to replace the 1998 statute which was a ‘worst act’ and deserved to be thrown out.
He added that the Centre had prepared the new bill and hoped that it would be passed during this session with the help of the opposition parties. “This act will change the scenario of the road sector in the country. Road, transport and inland transport sector are of vital importance and the new law will be on the lines of similar laws now in vogue in countries like the US, Canada, Germany, Japan and UK,” he said.
The government received feedback before drafting the bill and the government would try to enact it during the current session itself, he said.
Saying, he is a firm believer that good roads lead to faster development, Gadkari said the Centre had taken a decision to develop National Highways on a ‘hybrid model’, and that will be based on a PPP model. ‘’In the model, 40 per cent of the capital is given by the government, 60 per cent by the concessioner (private investor). Problems of land acquisition and environment will be solved by the government,” he added.
Through this model the government will launch 42 major road projects which will be economically-viable and also profitable for concessionaires.
