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The need for a dedicated non-banking financial company (NBFC) for the road sector should be addressed at the earliest, said Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport and Highways Minister. He also mooted the idea of a dedicated NBFC for the infrastructure sector.
“Road sector does not have a dedicated NBFC unlike power or railways, this needs to be addressed at the earliest. Tapping insurance and pension funds are viable options and we must look at tie-ups with foreign funds to offer accessible loans after hedging against the dollar. An infrastructure focused NBFC is the need of the hour,” Gadkari said at an industry interaction organised by Assocham.
The government is working to systemically address the challenges in infrastructure development. Earlier, the land acquisition was a problem and a major reason for delay. Today, a project does not start before 80-90 per cent of acquisitions are done, he added.
Cost reduction
“We have proposed project insurance in lieu of bank guarantees to speed up the process. Competition is healthy and we must strive for a low cost, high quality construction. Precast technology in tunnel development has been given the go ahead as it ensures faster TAT and reduces cost by 30 per cent and we are working to set up a precast factory in every district. Similarly, using glass fibre in place of steel reduces cost by 30 per cent. We are exploring use case for jute, waste plastic, and rubber as a replacement or addition to Bitumen in road construction,” Gadkari noted.
Eco-friendly development
Acknowledging the Assocham’s role in saving ₹5,000 crore in the construction of Zojila tunnel, the Minister added, “Environmentally conscious development is important and we are looking to replace diesel with ethanol which is cheaper and gives farmers additional income. We have also adopted transplantation in place of chopping down trees and we will need at least 1,000 contractors who are ready to transplant trees”.
Assocham President Sumant Sinha suggested the government focussing more on optimising the cost of construction and lifetime maintenance, in which India lags behind developed nations.
“The government and the private sector can work more collaboratively to ensure we have best-in-class operational guidelines to keep our infrastructure in good shape for the longer-term, including making the assets more weather-resistance, especially during monsoons,” he added.
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